Notes on McFarland, Week 8 Lecture 2: Peer influence and network formation

Discussion of "Network as an independent variable"

Ties and positions that influence outcomes: Strong ties greatly influence organizational action
Positional effects Bridging relations can bring social influences Perceived groups guide behaviors

Social influence
Intra-Organizational Organizational chart Advice Network Friendly Networks Inter-Organizational Network Structure Formation Stratified Clustered Segregated

Discussion of "Network as a dependent variable"

Factors driving network formation The teacher presents and example in a class
Network forms Strong ties tend to be homphilous, local, reciprocal ties Weak ties tend to be heterophilous, distant bridging ties that form spanning trees across groups Organizational context amplify certain tie mechanisms Heterogeneous + choice = segregation Large size + no grouping + choice = stratification and clustering Prescribed grouping + small size + frequent interaction = more random association Network treatments Guided network formation Facilitate frequent interactions Encourage boundary spanning Optimize team composition Network correctives Status treatments: Heterogeneous group work Clique treatments: rotate and reassign groups

Network organization compared to other theories

Prepared by Ariadna73

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