 CASOS Publication
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"On the Evolution of Social and Organizational Networks" (PDF file) Author: Kathleen M. Carley Abstract Over time, social and organizational networks evolve. These networks have a great deal of influence; e.g., they effect the rate of information diffusion among individuals and within organizations, the ability of individuals to acquire and use information, and the speed, quality, and accuracy of organizational decision. Consequently, the change or evolution of these networks can have dramatic social and organizational consequences. Most models of network evolution overlook the simple fact that networks exist within an ecology of networks. For example, the social network denoting who talks to whom is intertwined with each individual's cognitive network (the way in which each individual links ideas) and the transactive knowledge network (each individual's perception of the network linking people to their ideas). For example, within organizations, the authority or reporting network (who reports to whom) is interlinked with many other networks including the task structure (which tasks are connected to which), the task access structure (who is assigned to what task). Change in any part of this ecology of networks ultimately affects all other parts and the behavior of the entire system is a function of the specific way in which these networks are interlinked. | ||