The dynamics of inter-node coordination in social networks: A theoretical perspective and empirical evidence

Scholars have paid little attention to the potential of analyzing social networks to conceptualize coordination in project management. This study uses the cybernetics theory and its related concepts to formulate the social and technical components of projects as a network of task-related social interactions within an organizational context. Interaction was defined as the variety or possible states one node generates for another node, while degree of coordination was defined as the extent to which a recipient node can handle the variety that interrelated nodes generate. To ground this discussion, a case study from a multinational pharmaceutical company (hereafter referred to as MPC) in which the above theoretical framework was used is presented.After collecting and analyzing data, Interaction Effectiveness (IE) was calculated based on the ratio of “helpful” to “not so helpful” behaviors between interrelated nodes. MPC's average organizational IE ratio of 1.03 was used as a baseline to determine the relative effectiveness of other nodes' interactions. The IE ratio also revealed two structural network properties. First, a departmental-level analysis indicated that most network relationships were asymmetrical (76.5%), reflecting a significant discrepancy in the perceptions between interrelated nodes. Second, the variability of IE ratios (standard deviation) ranged from 0.10 to 1.28, reflecting the degree of consistency among the relationships of each single node and its interrelated nodes. This study concludes that the overall effectiveness of task-related social interactions is a function how well variety and variety handling are aligned between any two interdependent nodes throughout the network.

Research highlights
► Interactions within social networks are defined as the variety one node generates for another node.
► The degree of coordination is defined as the extent to which a recipient node can handle input variety.
► Interaction Effectiveness is calculated based on the ratio of “helpful” to “not so helpful” behaviors.
► The organizational IE ratio can be used as a baseline to determine the effectiveness of interactions.