Individual centrality and performance in virtual R&D groups: An empirical study

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ahuja, MK; Galletta, DF; Carley, KM
• 署名单位: Indiana University System; IU Kelley School of Business; Indiana University Bloomington; Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); University of Pittsburgh; Carnegie Mellon University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.49.1.21.12756
• 发表日期: 2003
• 页码: 21-38
• 关键词: field study; path analysis; social science; hierarchy of authority; IS project teams; ELECTRONIC MAIL; social network analysis; centrality; roles; individual performance

摘要

Communication technologies support virtual R&D groups by enabling immediate and frequent interaction of their geographically-distributed members. Performance of members in such groups has yet to be studied longitudinally. A model proposes not only direct effects of. functional role, status, and communication role on individual performance, but also indirect effects through individual centrality. Social network analysis was performed on e-mail samples from two time periods separated by four years. Analysis revealed both direct and indirect effects as hypothesized; however, the indirect effects were more consistent in both time periods, The clearest findings were that centrality mediates the effects of functional role, status., and communication role on individual performance. Interestingly, centrality was a stronger direct predictor of performance than the individual characteristics considered in this study. The study illustrates the usefulness of accounting for network effects for better understanding individual performance in virtual groups.