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Cited by 696Team Dynamics and PerformanceKnowledge Management and SharingInnovation and Knowledge Management

The Network Structure of Exploration and Exploitation

Lazer, David, Friedman, Allan·2007·Administrative Science Quarterly
DOI 10.2189/asqu.52.4.667
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Abstract

Whether as team members brainstorming or cultures experimenting with new technologies, problem solvers communicate and share ideas. This paper examines how the structure of communication networks among actors can affect system-level performance. We present an agent-based computer simulation model of information sharing in which the less successful emulate the more successful. Results suggest that when agents are dealing with a complex problem, the more efficient the network at disseminating information, the better the short-run but the lower the long-run performance of the system. The dynamic underlying this result is that an inefficient network maintains diversity in the system and is thus better for exploration than an efficient network, supporting a more thorough search for solutions in the long run. For intermediate time frames, there is an inverted-U relationship between connectedness and performance, in which both poorly and well-connected systems perform badly, and moderately connected systems perform best. This curvilinear relationship between connectivity and group performance can be seen in several diverse instances of organizational and social behavior.

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91 of 91 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The same individuals arranged in a different network can exhibit different emergent behavior.

    “In other words, the same individuals arranged in a different network can exhibit different emergent behavior”

    From Stewardship of global collective behavior (2021) · cites this paper as [66]

  • A growing body of research documents a complex but persistent and critical relationship between social networks' structure and collectives' ability to collaborate, coordinate and solve problems that ultimately shape cultural repertoires.

    “A growing body of research documents a complex but persistent and critical relationship between social networks' structure and collectives' ability to collaborate, coordinate and solve problems [123][124][125] that ultimately shape cultural repertoires 74,126 .”

    From Machine culture (2023) · cites this paper as [123]

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Related

Authors
Lazer, D., & Friedman, A.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
ORCID
Lazer, David
Venue
Administrative Science Quarterly
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2007-12
Volume
52
Issue
4
Pages
667-694
ISSN
  • 0001-8392 (ISSN-L)
  • 1930-3815
DOI
10.2189/asqu.52.4.667
OpenAlex
W2097141357
Cited by
696
References
91
Citations by year
2026: 31 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 45 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 47 · 2012: 36
FWCI
16.22
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Administrative Science Quarterly (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Repository Service (Northeastern University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Team Dynamics and Performance
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Knowledge Management and Sharing
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Innovation and Knowledge Management
Keywords
exploration and exploitation, communication networks, network structure, information sharing, agent-based modeling, organizational performance, diversity, inverted U-shaped relationship, connectedness, social networks, organizational behavior

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