MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library



    Bridging Cultural Holes in Organizations: The Dynamic Structure of Social Networks and Organizational Vocabularies Within and Across Subunits


    Tasselli, Stefano and Zappa, Paola and Lomi, Alessandro (2020) Bridging Cultural Holes in Organizations: The Dynamic Structure of Social Networks and Organizational Vocabularies Within and Across Subunits. Organization Science, 31 (5). pp. 1-21. ISSN 1047-7039

    [img]
    Preview
    Download (1MB) | Preview


    Share your research

    Twitter Facebook LinkedIn GooglePlus Email more...



    Add this article to your Mendeley library


    Abstract

    The mechanisms by which social networks and organizational vocabularies combine jointly to affect communication patterns across organizational boundaries remain largely unexplored. In this paper, we examine the mutually constitutive relation between the network ties through which organizational members communicate with each other and the vocabularies that they use to describe their organization. We suggest that the dynamic structure of social networks and organizational vocabularies is contingent on the formal design of organizational subunits. Within subunit boundaries, members who interact with each other are more likely to develop similar vocabularies over time. Interestingly, between subunits, the more two members share similar organizational vocabularies, the more likely they are to form a tie over time. We find empirical evidence for these arguments in a longitudinal study conducted among the managers of a multiunit organization. Organizational vocabularies, we suggest, may sustain communication patterns across organizational boundaries, thus bridging cultural holes within organizations.

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: Cite as: Stefano Tasselli, Paola Zappa, Alessandro Lomi (2020) Bridging Cultural Holes in Organizations: The Dynamic Structure of Social Networks and Organizational Vocabularies Within and Across Subunits. Organization Science
    Keywords: organizational vocabularies; organizational social networks; organizational design; boundary spanning; organizational communication;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Business
    Item ID: 13965
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2019.1352
    Depositing User: Paola Zappa
    Date Deposited: 08 Feb 2021 15:23
    Journal or Publication Title: Organization Science
    Publisher: Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

    Repository Staff Only(login required)

    View Item Item control page

    Downloads

    Downloads per month over past year

    Origin of downloads