Research Summaries
Description
Sameer's research examines the dynamics of social networks inside organizations and their consequences for individual attainment and organizational success. His research encompasses three broad streams of activity.
Social Capital Activation
Social capital refers to valuable resources (e.g., information, influence, social support) that are embedded in people's relationships. A growing body of research has called attention to the fact that - in given situations - people choose to affiliate with only a subset of the actors available to them. These choices influence the quality and volume of resources that individual actors obtain and have consequences for their attainment. Sameer's dissertation examines social capital activation during uncertain times in organizational life - e.g., restructuring, mergers, or acquisitions. It provides conceptual and empirical clarity on the effects of uncertainty on the size and range of networks activated by drawing on unique data from three disparate settings: (1) an information services company that underwent a large-scale restructuring; (2) a software lab in Beijing, China that introduced a new talent management (executive shadowing) program; and (3) a non-profit health care company that participated in an experimental study.
Separate from his dissertation, Sameer is also engaged in a second stream of research related to social capital activation. Sameer and his collaborator, Andras Tilcsik, are currently in process of examining the role of stigma and sympathy in social capital activation to support job searches.
Culture, Cognition, and Social Networks
Recent years have seen a surge of interest in the interrelationships among culture, cognition, and social structure - especially the structure that is reflected in social networks. Sameer and his co-author, Mahzarin R. Banaji, have recently published a paper in American Sociological Review that brings together insights and analytical tools from cultural sociology, cognitive psychology, and network analysis to examine collaborative networks within organizations.
In addition, one of Sameer's dissertation chapters examines the role of cognitive frames - in particular, the threat/opportunity frame - in shaping network activation choices inside organizations. In the context of an experimental study (2x2 factorial design) involving 158 health care executives, he examines how activation choices differ in the frames of loss versus gain and control versus limited control.
Boundary-Spanning Networks in Organizations
A vast literature has shown the benefits - to individuals, teams, and the organization as a whole - of boundary-spanning networks (i.e., ties that span formal organizational boundaries such as departments, functions, business units). By contrast, much less is known about how leaders can intervene in organizational systems to influence the formation of boundary-spanning networks. One of Sameer's dissertation chapters reports on a field experiment designed to assess the effects of a corporate talent management program on the boundary-spanning networks of its participants. Using longitudinal network surveys implemented over a six month period with program participants and a matched control group, Sameer uses a differences-in-differences design to uncover the effects of this program.
Finally, in a conceptually related stream of work, Sameer and his collaborators, Christopher C. Liu and Toby E. Stuart, develop a theory of intra-organizational ecology that is grounded in the coordinating activity of the organization. They use a mapping of individuals to activities based on the complete roster of memberships in electronic mailing lists in two different organizations to characterize intra-organizational niche positions and examine their implications for individual attainment.