IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/comaot/v7y2001i2d10.1023_a1011352904886.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Interaction Value Perspective on Firms of Differing Size

Author

Listed:
  • Walid F. Nasrallah

    (Stanford University)

  • Raymond E. Levitt

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

We present a general model of a network of interacting individuals, each of whom derives a known, real-valued benefit from each possible dyadic interaction. The model views interactions as knowledge-transfer exchanges that add value to the organization. We use this model to derive interaction patterns within an organization. We assume that the value of dyadic interaction benefits is distributed as a randomly permuted geometric series. Moreover, interactions only add value when a large enough waiting period is observed between interaction attempts. We show that an organization optimized for knowledge transfer has a distribution of interaction frequencies which correlates well with observations. Organizations of differing sizes can have similar optimal structures as long they have similar normalized levels of interdependence between interactions, and distribution of interaction benefit values. This research has implications for the design of communication infrastructure in a growing organization, as well as for the predictive value of modeling organizations at different scales.

Suggested Citation

  • Walid F. Nasrallah & Raymond E. Levitt, 2001. "An Interaction Value Perspective on Firms of Differing Size," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 113-144, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:comaot:v:7:y:2001:i:2:d:10.1023_a:1011352904886
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1011352904886
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1023/A:1011352904886
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1023/A:1011352904886?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Walid Nasrallah & Peter Glynn & Raymond Levitt, 1998. "Diversity and Popularity in Organizations and Communities," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 347-372, December.
    2. Jay R. Galbraith, 1974. "Organization Design: An Information Processing View," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 28-36, May.
    3. Raymond E. Levitt & Jan Thomsen & Tore R. Christiansen & John C. Kunz & Yan Jin & Clifford Nass, 1999. "Simulating Project Work Processes and Organizations: Toward a Micro-Contingency Theory of Organizational Design," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(11), pages 1479-1495, November.
    4. Pfeffer, Jeffrey, 1997. "New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195114348.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Walid Nasrallah & Raymond Levitt & Peter Glynn, 2003. "Interaction Value Analysis: When Structured Communication Benefits Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(5), pages 541-557, October.
    2. Walid F. Nasrallah, 2006. "When does management matter in a dog-eat-dog world: An “Interaction Value Analysis” model of organizational climate," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 339-359, December.
    3. Daniel Diermeier & Wallace J. Hopp & Seyed Iravani, 2007. "Innovating under Pressure—Towards a Science of Crisis Management," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 7, pages 125-154, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Walid Nasrallah & Raymond Levitt & Peter Glynn, 2003. "Interaction Value Analysis: When Structured Communication Benefits Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(5), pages 541-557, October.
    2. Nicolay Worren & Tore Christiansen & Kim Verner Soldal, 2020. "Using an algorithmic approach for grouping roles and sub-units," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Worren, Nicolay, 2016. "Operationalizing the concept of conflicting functional demands," Working Paper Series 04-2016, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, School of Economics and Business.
    4. Tamaki Horii & Yan Jin & Raymond E. Levitt, 2005. "Modeling and Analyzing Cultural Influences on Project Team Performance," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 305-321, January.
    5. Richard M. Burton & Børge Obel, 2018. "The science of organizational design: fit between structure and coordination," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Walid F. Nasrallah, 2006. "When does management matter in a dog-eat-dog world: An “Interaction Value Analysis” model of organizational climate," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 339-359, December.
    7. Jiatong Yu & Jiajue Wang & Taesoo Moon, 2022. "Influence of Digital Transformation Capability on Operational Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, June.
    8. Jingsi Zhang & Liangqun Qi, 2021. "Crisis Preparedness of Healthcare Manufacturing Firms during the COVID-19 Outbreak: Digitalization and Servitization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-23, May.
    9. de Camargo Fiorini, Paula & Roman Pais Seles, Bruno Michel & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Barberio Mariano, Enzo & de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes, 2018. "Management theory and big data literature: From a review to a research agenda," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 112-129.
    10. Peter Dobers & Lars Strannegård & Rolf Wolff, 2000. "Union‐Jacking the research agenda. A study of the frontstage and backstage of Business Strategy and the Environment 1992–1998," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 49-61, January.
    11. Scherhag, Christian & Boenigk, Silke, 2010. "Relationship Fundraising: Stand der empirischen Forschung, theoretischer Bezugsrahmen und zukünftige Forschungsfelder," ZögU - Zeitschrift für öffentliche und gemeinwirtschaftliche Unternehmen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 33(4), pages 354-367.
    12. Shrestha, Yash Raj & Krishna, Vaibhav & von Krogh, Georg, 2021. "Augmenting organizational decision-making with deep learning algorithms: Principles, promises, and challenges," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 588-603.
    13. Ahmed Hamdi & Tarik Saikouk & Bouchaib Bahli, 2020. "Facing supply chain disruptions: enhancers of supply chain resiliency," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(4), pages 2943-2958.
    14. Jesse Shore & Ethan Bernstein & David Lazer, 2014. "Facts and Figuring: An Experimental Investigation of Network Structure and Performance in Information and Solution Spaces," Harvard Business School Working Papers 14-075, Harvard Business School, revised Jun 2014.
    15. Y. Sekou Bermiss & Benjamin L. Hallen & Rory McDonald & Emily C. Pahnke, 2017. "Entrepreneurial beacons: The Yale endowment, run‐ups, and the growth of venture capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 545-565, March.
    16. Sarah Lister, 2000. "Power in partnership? An analysis of an NGO's relationships with its partners," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 227-239.
    17. Regine Pei Tze Oh & Susan M. Sanchez & Thomas W. Lucas & Hong Wan & Mark E. Nissen, 2009. "Efficient experimental design tools for exploring large simulation models," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 237-257, September.
    18. Starling David Hunter & Henrik Bentzen & Jan Taug, 2020. "On the “missing link” between formal organization and informal social structure," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 9(1), pages 1-20, December.
    19. Phanish Puranam & Harbir Singh & Saikat Chaudhuri, 2009. "Integrating Acquired Capabilities: When Structural Integration Is (Un)necessary," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 313-328, April.
    20. Klein, Daniel & Ludwig, Christopher A. & Nicolay, Katharina, 2020. "Internal digitalization and tax-efficient decision making," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-051, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:comaot:v:7:y:2001:i:2:d:10.1023_a:1011352904886. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.