Social Networks and Organizations

Ofem, Brandon; Floyd, Theresa M.; Borgatti, Stephen P.

doi:10.1002/9781118325513.ch6

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Lastly, we suggest that our case study approach may be applicable in a range of contexts outside NASA as many teams and MTSs have collective performance experience. This work is in keeping with recommendations to conduct qualitative ethnographic research prior to and following quantitative research within an organization (Ofem et al, 2012). Given the impact of a MTS’s history on its future operations, we expect continued qualitative examinations of this type will serve to better inform LDEMs, and could serve as the foundation for broader explorations of MTS temporal dynamics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Learning From the Past to Advance the Future: The Adaptation and Resilience of NASA’s Spaceflight Multiteam Systems Across Four Eras of Spaceflight

et al. 2019

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Many important “grand” challenges—such as sending a team of humans on a voyage to Mars—present superordinate goals that require coordinated efforts across “multiteam systems” comprised of multiple uniquely specialized and interdependent component teams. Given their flexibility and resource capacity, multiteam system structures have great potential to perform adaptively in dynamic contexts. However, these systems may fail to achieve their superordinate goals if constituent members or teams do not adapt their collaboration processes to meet the needs of the changing environment. In this case study of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Spaceflight Multiteam Systems (SFMTSs), we aim to support the next era of human spaceflight by considering how the history of manned spaceflight might impact a SFMTS’s ability to respond adaptively to future challenges. We leverage archival documents, including Oral History interviews with NASA personnel, in order to uncover the key attributes and structural features of NASA’s SFMTSs as well as the major goals, critical events, and challenges they have faced over 60 years of operation. The documents reveal three distinct “eras” of spaceflight: (1) Early Exploration , (2) Experimentation , and (3) Habitation , each of which reflected distinct goals, critical events, and challenges. Moreover, we find that within each era, SFMTSs addressed new challenges adaptively by modifying their: (1) technical capabilities; (2) internal collaborative relationships; and/or (3) external partnerships. However, the systems were sometimes slow to implement needed adaptations, and changes were often spurred by initial performance failures. Implications for supporting future SFMTS performance and future directions for MTS theory and research are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Learning From the Past to Advance the Future: The Adaptation and Resilience of NASA’s Spaceflight Multiteam Systems Across Four Eras of Spaceflight

et al. 2019

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“…In addition, we used the “ethnographic sandwich” approach, placing our quantitative studies between two smaller ethnographic investigations (consisting of participant observations and interviews). The goal of this method is to better align the research question and approach with its context, and to better interpret the findings once these have been obtained (Ofem, Floyd, & Borgatti, 2012). To ensure that we could do a whole (bounded) network survey, we limited our sample to 90 interdependent knowledge workers who are involved in the organization’s primary (core) advisory function.…”

Section: Methodology and Data Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

No teleworker is an island: The impact of temporal and spatial separation along with media use on knowledge sharing networks

Meulen

Baalen

Heck

et al. 2019

Journal of Information Technology

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Despite its prevalence, there is a lack of understanding regarding the effect of telework on an organization’s knowledge base. Recognizing the enabling role of electronic communication media, this article therefore addresses the interaction effects of media synchronicity and temporal as well as spatial separation among colleagues on sharing in knowledge networks. Special attention is paid to knowledge awareness (a form of metaknowledge representing “who knows what”) as well as homogeneous and heterogeneous knowledge sources to further explicate the relationship between coworker separation and knowledge sharing. Multiple surveys were placed between two smaller ethnographic investigations and combined with whole network data to form an in-depth study of 64 knowledge workers at a medium-sized European research and advisory organization. The results reveal that spatial separation directly reduces the frequency of knowledge sharing between colleagues, whereas temporal separation affects knowledge sharing through reduced knowledge awareness, resulting in lower job and proactive performance. The use of asynchronous media can serve to mitigate most of the negative effects of spatial separation on knowledge sharing but may also exacerbate the negative effect of temporal separation on teleworkers’ knowledge awareness of colleagues with identical expertise.

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“…The socio-centric perspective studies scientific networks and has been based on the collection of bibliographic references (Bravo-Hermsdorff et al, 2019), co-authorships (Boschini and Sjögren, 2007;Sie et al, 2012), and finally, studies of research trajectories of decision makers and their respective research fields (Collins and Steffen-Fluhr, 2019). In this case, this article approaches the homophily study from the egocentric perspective; thus, the results will always depend on how the ego network is bounded and characterized (Ofem et al, 2013;Crossley et al, 2015;Perry et al, 2018;Levinson et al, 2022). This article used a simple question with no name-generator describing additional information from the alter.…”

Section: Network Homophily and Science Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender heterophily and equality: a contribution to gender equality in the Chilean scientific sector

Espinosa-Cristia,

Vega-Muñoz,

Cerda-Suarez

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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Women’s insertion or consolidation in science has been thoroughly researched. Such discussion could be particularly relevant concerning sustainable development goal five (SDG 5) on Gender Equality advancement. However, the debate is focused on women percentages inserted into scientific labor, leaving the issue of symbolic experience for women in research unaddressed and with little empirical support. The data come from a survey developed under a FONDECYT project, which studied knowledge production in Chile. Researchers obtained contacts through invitations on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and databases containing scientists’ emails working in Chile. The non-probabilistic sample collected 583 cases, with participants residing in 15 of the 16 country regions. As a result, this document presents the findings of a study on symbolic experience using an instrument to determine whether there are any homophily patterns. It aims to determine if scientists tend to cite others as referents only when they encounter a situation like their own. The findings reveal a clear way scientists estimate the effect of others in terms of their gender homophily. This intervening factor could be crucial in reproducing the disparities and asymmetries that characterize Chile’s scientific field.

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Social Networks and Organizations

Cited by 8 publications

References 24 publications

Learning From the Past to Advance the Future: The Adaptation and Resilience of NASA’s Spaceflight Multiteam Systems Across Four Eras of Spaceflight

Learning From the Past to Advance the Future: The Adaptation and Resilience of NASA’s Spaceflight Multiteam Systems Across Four Eras of Spaceflight

No teleworker is an island: The impact of temporal and spatial separation along with media use on knowledge sharing networks

Gender heterophily and equality: a contribution to gender equality in the Chilean scientific sector

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