Andrew Parker

Bio: Andrew Parker is an academic researcher from University of Exeter. The author has contributed to research in topics: Social network analysis & Social network. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 43 publications receiving 5647 citations. Previous affiliations of Andrew Parker include Stanford University & Grenoble School of Management.

The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations

Abstract: Preface Part 1 How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations Chapter 1 The Hidden Power of Social Networks Chapter 2 Across the Great Divide: Finding and Fixing Critical Disconnects in Organizations Chapter 3 Knowing What We Know: Developing a Sense and Respond Organizational Capability Chapter 4 Charged Up: Creating Energy in Organizations Part 2 How Managers Manage Social Networks Chapter 5 Pinpointing the Problem: Improving Networks through Individuals Chapter 6 Building Bridges: Initiating, Developing and Maintaining Networks Chapter 7 Breaking the Mold:Aligning Organizational Context To Sustain Appropriate Network Patterns Chapter 8 Uncharted Territory: The Future and Challenges of Networks in Organizations Appendix A Conducting and Interpreting Social Network Analysis Appendix B Tools for Promoting Network Connectivity Notes Bibliography About the Authors Index

WHITE PAPER Knowing What We Know: Supporting Knowledge Creation and Sharing in Social Networks

Abstract: Many early knowledge management initiatives focused heavily on informationtechnology and codified knowledge and so missed performance improvementopportunities from interventions targeting knowledge embedded within networks ofemployees. Despite advanced technical solutions employed to manage organizationalknowledge, we continue to find that people are often more reliant on other people thanthey are on databases when seeking answers to unstructured questions. As a result,organizations creating more cohesive networks on knowledge related dimensions arebetter able to collectively solve problems, create new knowledge and transfer explicit andtacit knowledge embodied within employees. The following article reports on a cross-industry research program assessing ways to promote knowledge creation and transfer innetworks of employees. Specifically, we have found four characteristics of relationshipsimportant for knowledge creation in networks: 1) knowing what others know; 2) havingaccess to other people’s thinking; 3) having people be willing to actively engage inproblem solving; and 4) having a safe relationship to promote learning and creativity.Mapping these dimensions in social networks yields targeted social and technicalinterventions managers can employ to improve a network’s ability to create and shareknowledge.

Making Invisible Work Visible: Using Social Network Analysis to Support Strategic Collaboration:

Abstract: With efforts to de-layer organizations and reduce functional boundaries, coordination increasingly occurs through networks of informal relations rather than channels tightly prescribed by formal reporting structures or detailed work processes. However, while organizations are moving to network forms through joint ventures, alliances, and other collaborative relationships, executives generally pay little attention to assessing and supporting informal networks within their own organizations. Social network analysis is a valuable means of facilitating collaboration in strategically important groups such as top leadership networks, strategic business units, new product development teams, communities of practice, joint ventures, and mergers. By making informal networks visible, social network analysis helps managers systematically assess and support strategically important collaboration.

An Overview of Innovation

Abstract: Models that depict innovation as a smooth, well-behaved linear process badly misspecify the nature and direction of the causal factors at work. Innovation is complex, uncertain, somewhat disorderly, and subject to changes of many sorts. Innovation is also difficult to measure and demands close coordination of adequate technical knowledge and excellent market judgment in order to satisfy economic, technological, and other types of constraints—all simultaneously. The process of innovation must be viewed as a series of changes in a complete system not only of hardware, but also of market environment, production facilities and knowledge, and the social contexts of the innovation organization.