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The significance of temporal changes in the topology of organizational communication networks during a crisis is studied using static and dynamic social network analysis (SNA). In static SNA, the network of interactions made during an entire data collection period is studied. For dynamic SNA, shorter segments of network data are used in the analysis. Using measures of degree centrality and core-periphery analysis, the prominence of actors is characterized and compared in the aggregate network (i.e., using static topology) and in daily networks (i.e., using dynamic topology) of a complex email network in a large organization during crisis. We show that while static typology cannot capture the network behavior completely, there are particular situations where the additional description provided by dynamic analysis is not significant. The limitations of dynamic topological SNA are discussed and we stress the importance of associating function with network structure in moving towards a more informative dynamical description.

Abstract. The dissemination of information in social networks and the relative effect of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) use has long been an interesting area of study in the field of sociology, human computer interaction and computer supported cooperative work. To date, a lot of research has been conducted regarding an actor's mobile phone usage behavior while disseminating information within a mobile social network. In this study, we explore the structured network position of individuals using mobile phone and their ability to disseminate information within their social network. Our proposition is that an actor's ability to disseminate information within a social group is affected by their structural network position. In this paper, we determine an actor's structural network position by four different measures of centrality-(i) degree, (ii) closeness, (iii) betweenness, and (iv) eigenvector centrality. We analyse the Reality Mining dataset, which contains mobile phone usage data over a 9 month period for exploring the association between the structural positions of different actors in a temporal communication. We extract relational data to construct a social network of the mobile phone users in order to determine the association between their position in the network and their ability to disseminate information. The following questions form the basis for this study: Does information dissemination capability of an actor reflect their structural position within a social network? How do different measures of centrality associate with the information dissemination capability of an actor? Are highly central actors able to disseminate information more effectively than those who have a lower central position within a social network?

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Purpose – This paper aims to explore changes in communication networks during organizational crisis. In the literature, various terms such as organizational mortality, organizational death, bankruptcy, decline, retrenchment and failure have been used to characterize different forms and facets of organizational crisis. Communication network studies have typically focussed on nodes (e.g. individuals or organizations), relationships between those nodes and subsequent affects of these relationships upon the network as a whole. Email networks in contemporary organizations are fairly representative of the underlying communication networks. Design/methodology/approach – The changing communication network structure at Enron Corporation during the crisis period (2000-2001) has been analyzed. The goal is to understand how communication patterns and structures are affected by organizational crisis. Drawing on communication network crisis and group behaviour theory, three propositions are tested: communication network becomes increasingly transitive as organizations experience crisis; communication network becomes less hierarchical as organizations are going through crisis; and communication network becomes more reciprocal as organizations are going through crisis. Findings – In this research analysis, the support of these three propositions was noticed. The results of tests and their implications are discussed in this paper. Originality/value – This study builds on an emerging stream of research area that applies social network analysis to organizational interaction data to study various questions related to organizational change and disintegration. These findings could help managers in designing an effective approach to monitor regular functionalities of their organizations.