Call for Papers

Call for short papers (pdf)

This sub-theme encourages micro–macro, multilevel theorizing in organizational network research and related empirical studies. Although multilevel approaches offer major opportunities for developing network theories of organizations, their potential has only recently been recognized in organizational scholarship. In recent years, several analyses have noted that while social network theory has been applied across levels of analysis—and network constructs naturally support micro–macro theorizing—explicitly connecting these levels in organizational network research remains relatively rare (Labianca & Chung, 2006; Moliterno & Mahony, 2011; Payne et al., 2011; Phelps et al., 2012).

This gap represents a largely untapped opportunity for organizational scholars. Focusing solely on either the micro or macro level obscures insights that emerge when both are integrated. Important advances can be made by studying how microlevel social–psychological processes shape the emergence of macrolevel social structures in interorganizational networks. Conversely, macrostructural dynamics can influence the formation, stability, and evolution of interpersonal networks within and between organizations.

The intersection between intra- and interorganizational networks is central to the multilevel focus of the sub-theme as it links intraorganizational microprocesses and linkages to macrolevel organizational relations and processes. To date, most research on organizational networks has focused either on interorganizational or on intraorganizational collaboration and exchange. In contrast, the link between inter- and intraorganizational networks remains largely unexplored (Van Wijk et al., 2008). For instance, we still know little about how knowledge resulting from interorganizational collaboration can be made available at other relevant places within the organization. Likewise, we lack knowledge and understanding of how characteristics of the intraorganizational network may affect tendencies to reach across firm boundaries. Investigating the interplay between intra- and interorganizational networks is highly relevant and has the potential to add to the literature on topics such as absorptive capacity, knowledge transfer, or network dynamics, to name but a few. Submissions may be of a conceptual or an empirical nature.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The interplay between intra- and interorganizational networks in general, its antecedents, and consequences;

• The dynamic interplay of elite interpersonal networks and interorganizational networks;

• Processes such as knowledge transfer, knowledge diffusion, or knowledge absorption at the intersection of intra- and interorganizational networks;

• The perception of interorganizational networks and its consequences for network evolution;

• Organizational boundaries as barriers or facilitators of resource transfer from inside the firm to the outside and vice versa.
   

• Moliterno, T. P., & Mahony, D. M. (2011). Network theory of organization: A multilevel approach. Journal of Management, 37, 443–467.
• Oh, H., Labianca, G., & Chung, M.-H. (2006). A multilevel model of group social capital. The Academy of Management Review, 31, 569–582.
• Payne, G. T., Moore, C. B., Griffis, S. E., & Autry, C. W. (2011). Multilevel challenges and opportunities in social capital research. Journal of Management, 37, 491–520.
• Phelps, C., Heidl, R., & Wadhwa, A. (2012). Knowledge, networks, and knowledge networks: A review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 38, 1115–1166.
• van Wijk, R., Jansen, J. P., & Lyles, M. A. (2008). Inter- and intra-organizational knowledge transfer: A meta-analytic review and assessment of its antecedents and consequences. Journal of Management Studies, 45(4), 830–853.