Contacts and Contracts: Cross-Level Network Dynamics in the Development of an Aircraft Material

Hans Berends (), Elco van Burg () and Erik M. van Raaij ()
Additional contact information
Hans Berends: School of Industrial Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Elco van Burg: School of Industrial Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Erik M. van Raaij: Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Organization Science, 2011, vol. 22, issue 4, 940-960

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate how interorganizational networks and interpersonal networks interact over time. We present a retrospective longitudinal case study of the network system that developed a novel aircraft material and analyze change episodes from a structurationist perspective. We identify five types of episodes in which interpersonal and interorganizational networks interact (persistence, prospecting, consolidation, reconfiguration, and dissolution) and analyze conditions for these episodes and sequences among them. Our findings advance a cross-level perspective on embeddedness and show how individuals may draw on relational and structural embeddedness as distributed resources. The multiple levels of embeddedness impact network dynamics by introducing converging and diverging dialectics, thereby limiting path dependence and proactive network orchestration.

Keywords: multilevel; network dynamics; product development; structuration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1100.0578 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:4:p:940-960

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Organization Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().