Organizational networks, performance, and knowledge exchange: quantitative analysis of networks within Hungarian and Swedish IT firms

Abstract

This thesis seeks to expand on current industry and international academic knowledge in order to comprehend how organizational networks and their implications serve as valuable knowledge in local practice. Specifically, the implications of organizational network aspects in the context of a Hungarian IT company. The goal of the research is to investigate how social interconnectedness in formal structure shapes information exchange among workers in one of Hungary's most advanced informational industries. The results of the research in the Hungarian context are compared with the Swedish IT firms’ network data from a previously conducted research in order to find patterns across the two country cases. The data collection process was performed through an online self-administered survey addressed to the employees of the Hungarian IT company. The questionnaire targeted three aspects of interactions within the network of employees: formal connections, advice-seeking connections and informal connections. The results yielded have created base for network mapping and description of the investigated networks, in correlation with the organizational and product development team collaboration methods. The findings accentuate the importance of information exchange across cross functional teams and the connection across seniority levels in order to boost the performance of Agile teams. The results of team collaboration and advice-seeking patterns are also found congruent with the data in the Swedish IT firm sample, which provides an additional level of depth to the insights on the importance of skill relatedness in organizational network formation.