Chapter 4: Pathways Of Opportunity In Dynamic Organizational Networks

How do organizational networks change continuously to provide new opportunities for members? We view organizations as complex adaptive systems embedded in heterogeneous networks consisting of different kinds of nodes (such as people, machines, projects, and heterogeneous components of the modern technological environment), and consider new opportunities to reside in the creation of new pathways linking previously unconnected nodes. We identify 2 broad classes of ideology relevant to opportunity creation in organizational networks: serendipity and goal directedness. These ideologies operate as explicit and tacit theories of networking, affecting the addition of new nodes as well as the creation and rearrangement of ties.