Understanding the overall network structure of organizations can help managers to support change. This article describes three different network theories of change, exploring the underlying assumptions and implications of each model. First, the E-I model predicts that cross-departmental friendship ties will help generate positive response to change in organizations by fostering trust and shared identity. The viscosity model predicts that introducing controversial (not clearly good or bad) change into the periphery of an organization and carefully regulating the interaction of innovators and nonadopters provides the best chance that it will diffuse successfully. Finally, the structural leverage theory presents a mathematical model that supports broad diffusion of clearly superior change, informing as many people as possible about the change.

The spatial arrangement of social network data in graphs can influence viewers" perceptions of structural characteristics such as prominence, bridging and grouping. To study the extent of this effect, we conducted an experiment with 80 graduate students. Each student viewed three of five different spatial arrangements of the same network. We found that viewers' perceptions of structural features of the network changed as the spatial arrangement of the network changed. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Abstract. Social network analysis uses techniques from graph theory to analyze the structure of relationships among social actors such as individuals or groups. We investigate the effect of the layout of a social network on the inferences drawn by observers about the number of social groupings evident and the centrality of various actors in the network. We conducted an experiment in which eighty subjects provided answers about three drawings. The subjects were not told that the drawings were chosen from five different layouts of the same graph. We found that the layout has a significant effect on their inferences and present some initial results about the way certain Euclidean features will affect perceptions of structural features of the network. There is no "best" layout for a social network; when layouts are designed one must take into account the most important features of the network to be presented as well as the network itself.

This field interview study examined patterns and content of advice sharing networks among 20 software executives to provide a clearer understanding of how advice relationships are established, the types of advice that are shared and the role that relationships play in the support of information exchange and diffusion. Most advice relationships were formed from strong tie relationships, while systematic differences were found among the types of advice sought from advice relationships resulting from strong ties, business ties and weak ties. The preference of software executives for rich communication media supports the importance of establishing trust in advice sharing relationships.

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