Social Networks and Organizations

Martin Kilduff (PhD Cornell, 1988) is Professor of Organizational Behavior at University College London, former editor of Academy of Management Review (2006-08), and currently associate editor of Administrative Science Quarterly.  Prior to joining UCL he served as Diageo Professor of Management Studies at Cambridge University, and prior to that served on the faculties of University of Texas at Austin, Penn State, and Insead. His work focuses on social networks and includes the co-authored books Social Networks and Organizations (Sage: 2003); and Interpersonal networks in organizations: Cognition, personality, dynamics and culture (Cambridge University Press: 2008). His research relates personality to network structure (e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology, 2008; Administrative Science Quarterly, 2001), perceived networks to actual networks (e.g., Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2008; Academy of Management Journal, 1994), and proposes new theory concerning scientific innovation (e.g., Academy of Management Review, 2011). Current research continues many of these emphases including research on how bias affects perceptions of women′s networks, how emotion distorts network perceptions, and how people′s careers are boosted by ties from the past. Wenpin Tsai is Professor of Business Administration inthe Smeal College of Business at the Pennsylvania StateUniversity. He holds degrees from National TaiwanUniversity (BBA), George Washington University (MBA),and London Business School (PhD). His current researchinterests include social capital, knowledge transfer,network evolution, and cooperative and competitiveinteractions inside and across organizations.His work has appeared in Academy of ManagementJournal, Academy of Management Review, StrategicManagement Journal, Organization Science andOrganization Behavior and Human Decision Processes.He has also published a book on social networks andorganizations (co-author Martin Kilduff). Wenpin is currently on or has served on the editorial boards of Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Strategic Management Journal. His contributions to the profession have also been recognized through several outstanding reviewer awards. In addition, he has been appointed as a Special Issue Editor (2004), member of advisory committee (2004-2007), and Associate Editor (2008-2010) of Academy of Management Journal.

• IntroductionUnderstanding Social Network ResearchIs There Social Network Theory? A Critical Examination of Theoretical FoundationsIn Pursuit of Lost QuestionsBridging the Gap between Structuralist and Individualist Approaches to Social NetworksNetwork TrajectoriesGoal-Directed and Serendipitous ProcessesToward a Poststructuralist Network Approach to OrganizationsConclusion