Mehra, Ajay*

The co-evolution of workplace co-operation, network structure and organizational performance

Project Description (abstract of previous paper that implemented a pilot study): People who work together do not always contribute equally to joint tasks. Some people are naturally conscientious, such that they are likely to carry their share of the work responsibly, while others may seek partnerships with good contributors so that they can obtain the benefits of the others’ efforts while investing little of their own. This study intends to understand how these tendencies of individuals shape the emergent structure of coworker networks, and how use of social information to assist in partner selection impacts individual outcomes and organizational performance. We use a multi-round prisoner’s dilemma to model coworker dyads given varying proportions of contributors and opportunists within an organization. Research questions include: How does the use of information from friends in choosing partners affect outcomes? Do contributors’ versus opportunists’ coworker networks develop distinct structures? Which network factors and partner-selection rules affect system level payoffs?

Software:

Tools being used: Matlab

Research Participants:

Ajay Mehra, professor, department of management
Tejaswi Channagiri Ajit, PhD student, department of management
Deborah Gibbons, Associate Professor, Naval Postgraduate Academy (she is not actively using HPC though).

Publications:

1. Gibbons, D., Mehra, A., and Channagiri, T. ​2015. Emergent social networks of altruists and opportunists: Evidence from an organizational simulation. Paper presented in the Social Networks Professional Development Workshop at the Academy of Management meetings in Vancouver, Canada.

Grants: