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

Organization Science, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 940-960, 2011

46 Pages Posted: 14 Sep 2011

See all articles by Hans Berends

Hans Berends

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business & Economics

Elco van Burg

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics

Erik M. van Raaij

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Rotterdam School of Management (RSM)

Date Written: March 1, 2010

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

JEL Classification: L93, M10, M19, O3

Suggested Citation

Berends, Hans and van Burg, Elco and van Raaij, Erik M., Contacts and Contracts: Cross-Level Network Dynamics in the Development of an Aircraft Material (March 1, 2010). Organization Science, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 940-960, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1926624

Hans Berends

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business & Economics ( email )

Netherlands

Elco Van Burg (Contact Author)

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
Amsterdam, 1081HV
Netherlands
+31 20 59 82510 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://research.vu.nl/en/persons/elco-van-burg

Erik M. Van Raaij

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
Room T08-21
Rotterdam, 3000 DR
Netherlands

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