The effectiveness of social networks in complex adaptive working environments
| Pages | 220-235 |
| Date | 10 August 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13287261211255338 |
| Published date | 10 August 2012 |
| Author | Alon E. Hasgall |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
The effectiveness of social
networks in complex adaptive
working environments
Alon E. Hasgall
Sernat Management School, Center for Academic Studies,
Or Yehuda, Israel
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether working environments possessing
characteristics of a complex adaptive systems (CAS), such as organizational social networks (SNs), will
be perceived by the individual worker as contributing to working efficiency. The author tested
whether SNs increase the workers’ sharing of knowledge, sensitivity to environmental changes and
synchronization of resource, which contribute to the autonomic ability to create solutions according to
changing demands in turbulent environments.
Design/methodology/approach – A research questionnaire distributed online assessed the views
and behaviors of 94 subjects regarding SNs. An index was formed for each of the four CAS variables
(Goal compliance; Situational sensitivity; Integration of information; and Resource synchronization) to
evaluate how the subjects perceive SN effectiveness.
Findings – A significant positive correlation was found between the degree of contribution to
organizational working processes and the variables “Situational sensitivity” and “Integration
of information”. This suggests that SNs allow workers to increase the degree of sensitivity to
environmental changes; and that SNs allow a high degree of integration of information between the
worker and other workers.
Originality/value – The utilization of SNs in organizations may allow quick and direct transfer of
information between workers and answer immediate demands and requirements. Thus, organizations
that are required to adapt to turbulent environments with high uncertainty factors and strong
competition may benefit if their workers utilize SNs effectively. It can be concluded that SNs can be
used as a friendly platform for the knowledge workers to update, be updated, sense environmental
changes and integrate information in cooperation with other workers.
Keywords Social networks,Workplace, Employees behaviour,Information exchange,
Knowledge management, Complex adaptivesystems, Working environment
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Social relations in organizations
The main obligation of organization workers is to accomplish their assignments while
promotingthe goals of the organization;however, this is best achievedby considering and
attending to the personal needs and demandsof the individual worker (Chen, 2010).The
assimilation of individual workers’ knowledge and their ability to form an organization
enable the individuals to change their position and how they affect the organization,
thereby enhancing the ability of the entire organization to achieve its goals.
In the digital era, a social network (SN) is developing (Freeman, 2004) which states:
a system of content connections and communication between many users on a digital
platform. Application of the SN in organizations especially supports the formation of
content groups that seek to promote practical solutions by utilizing the knowledge
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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JSIT
14,3
220
Journal of Systems and Information
Technology
Vol. 14 No. 3, 2012
pp. 220-235
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1328-7265
DOI 10.1108/13287261211255338
of each individual user. This is accomplished by facilitating the creation, updating and
conservation of shared contents in one locale through asynchronous communicative
tools, which the entire group uses for managing these contents. Such applications may
enable workers to combine their personal needs and abilities with those of other
workers, to ultimately promote organizational goals (Hasgall, 2011).
In an organizational SN based on a digital platform, the worker can autonomously
focus on searching, applying and distributing effective solutions (Atlee, 2008) through
the educated use of the Wisdom of the Crowds that accumulates within the organization
(Surowiecki, 2004). In parallel, the SN facilitates continuous and rich communication
between workers as well as organized knowledge sharing. SN applications allow the
individual to communicate immediately and in a wide-spread manner, manage large
amounts of information and focus on significant data, connect with experts and other
experienced individuals, combine interests and create a shared knowledge database.
The SN user is assisted by computerized databases and tools which assess and analyze
information (Freeman, 2004). Assimilation of the Wisdom of the Crowds in the
organizational SN may assist the management of organizational knowledge, formation
of communal activities according to organizational needs, advancement of human
resources and acceleration of relevant solutions for the organization. Knowledge found
among members of the SN is more effective in anticipating events and finding solutions
than the knowledge of individuals, even if they are considered experts (Surowiecki,
2004). The Wisdom of the Crowds allows evaluation and reevaluation of solutions and
thinking patterns through the use of communal voting and tracking of popular
activities of the community members (Ellison et al., 2007). These advantages contribute
to coping with changing and competitive environments which are packed with
information. However, for a SN to be effective for the individual worker, the worker
must follow information and solutions suggested by other workers fluently and
according to his or her own demands, while in parallel distributing his or her
knowledge and solutions to other members of the SN.
The worker, the community and the sharing of knowledge in organizations
One fundamental demand from executives in organizations is to fully extract the
knowledge of individual workers in the appropriate time and place. This ability is
considered a strategic asset for the organization, as it allows rapid adaptation to
changing demands in the complex organizational environment of the current era
(Oliver and Roos, 1996; Shoham and Hasgall, 2005). However, research has shown that
organizations are unable to assimilate and apply effective knowledge management
processes for coping with the environment (Bennet and Bennet, 2000). On the contrary:
the demand of executives of their workers to act in a synchronized and rapid manner in
fact interrupts the ability of the worker to create and distribute individual knowledge.
The control required for the synchronization of the individual worker’s activity is
contradictory to the need to form specific solutions to a situation. A hierarchical
organization based on bureaucratic foundations is not suitable for allowing autonomous
functioning of the workers, which is required for the formation of focused solutions
(Davenport and Prusak, 2000). In contrast with such organizations, a study by the
international organization INSNA[1] has analyzed worker communities in organizations
that utilize organizational internet-based SNs. This study suggested that such SNs may
upgrade the capabilities of the organization by connecting workers in real time,
SNs in complex
working
environments
221
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