The Micro-Dynamics of Network Leverage: Implications for Change Agents External to an Organization

Much of the impact of a policy depends on how it is implemented, especially as mediated by organizations such as schools or hospitals. Furthermore, implementation depends on each organization’s capacity to absorb innovations. Here we extend the concept of absorptive capacity to include the intra-organizational network dynamics that occur during the implementation of an innovation. In particular, we hypothesize the potential for intra-organizational polarization that is especially likely to occur when an organization is highly salient to its members. Using agent-based models we find that when organizational members are salient to one another, external change agents who attempt to direct organizations by introducing strongly oriented venues (e.g., professional development emphasizing specific teaching practices) may unintentionally contribute to polarization in the organizational network, inhibiting full implementation of the immediate innovation as well as reducing organizational capacity to implement future innovations. Thus the external change agent should consider the short term interaction with the intra-organizational network dynamics as part of the organization’s longer term absorptive capacity.