An Adapted Structurational Framework of Network Emergence

• In Event: B.E.S.T.: Communication Networks in and Between Organizations

Abstract

Although structuration theory (ST) has endured a considerable influence in organizational communication research, there remains a paucity of quantitative empirical research using ST as a viable framework. The purpose of this paper is to develop an adapted structurational framework to explain the emergence of communication interactions within and between organizations. The adapted framework distinguishes between relational states/events and internal/external structural rules. For analysis, we introduce multi-panel relational event modeling, a technique that uses processual inference to empirically demonstrate the recursive nature of system and structure. As an introductory example, we examined the organizational socialization processes, using cell phone data, of students living in the same dormitory from September 2008 through February 2009. Our results demonstrate how different structures (i.e., perceived social relations and internal structural rules) are reproduced and transformed over time. Our research contributes to empirical applications of ST, theories of network science, organizational socialization, and computational social science.

Authors

• Andrew Nicholas Pilny, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

• Ly Dinh, U of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

• Ann Bryan, U of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

• Jeffrey D Proulx, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign