Application of network analysis in evaluating organizational structure and determining its future shape

The article presents the result of an empirical study that compares the formal structure of a company with its less formal counterpart: the network of cooperation, flow of information, knowledge and decision between employees. An empirical study surveys 374 employees from two companies about their position in formal structure and their connections with other employees. The conducted analysis examines the relationship between company structural characteristics and performance, as one of studied company performs less effective than other. The paper examines such issues as: the level of convergence of both structures, the degree of compliance of formal and informal authority and the allocation of network resources. In a company characterized by higher performance we observed higher level of convergence of both structures, higher degree of compliance of the position of the employee with the level of their informal authority, and higher level of support provided by the managers. Results suggest that the comparison of formal and informal structure of the company provides information about its performance that is difficult to obtain in any other way. Finally, presented managerial implications refer to the specific ways how to improve the organizational structure on the basis of information obtained by analyzing the organizational network