Building Effective Intra-Organizational Networks: The Role of Teams

2Building effective intra-organizational networks: The role of teams ABSTRACT: This paper integrates the largely independent literatures on networks and teams. Our objective is twofold: (1) to understand what constitutes an effective organizational network when much of the work of the organization is done by teams; and (2) to examine what the internal and external social capital needs of teams are. We raise questions to guide future research, and point to potential managerial implications. 3How does one build effective intra-organizational networks? An impressive body of research has accumulated on this question. Surprisingly, though, this literature has largely ignored one of the key relational building blocks of many organizations: formal teams. The neglect of teams is particularly troubling because organizations are increasingly using teams to accomplish mission critical tasks. Furthermore, the literature on team and small group dynamics offers a rich vein of findings that are potentially quite relevant to the topic of intra-organizational networks. This neglect of teams in the network literature is mirrored by a neglect of networks in the team literature. Our purpose in writing this paper is to provide a basis for the integration of these two literatures. Interestingly, in an earlier time these literatures were intertwined. Bavelas and his colleagues used network methodology to study communication in small groups (Bavelas, 1950