Incorporating Social Network Analysis into Traditional OD Interventions

and 1930s, organizational researchers have recognized the importance of social interaction in the process of changing organizational behavior. This understanding has led to greater focus on the role of social relationships in organization development. According to Cross and Parker (2004), for example, social networks influence organizational outcomes by fostering collaboration, promoting knowledge sharing, and providing access to new, innovative ideas. Moreover, the changing nature of work, we suggest, has increased the importance of this perspective. As organizations design matrix structures, create virtual teams, forge alliances, and outsource functions, they are placing their faith in relationships to get work done. In particular, informal social relationships have been identified as critical levers of organizational success. Unlike formal reporting structures or prescribed working relationships, informal social relationships are ad hoc relationships that are self-generated and self-managed by organizational members. The networks of these informal relationships within an organization often exist outside the boundaries of organizational charts, work processes, and standard operating procedures, yet are critical to business effectiveness. Cross and Prusak write, “Increasingly, it’s through these informal networks—not just through traditional organizational hierarchies—that information is found and work gets done,” (2002, p. 105). OD practitioners have only recently begun to consider informal social networks in their practice, however (Bunker, Alban, and Lewicki, 2004). According to Krackhardt and Hanson: