Is Informal Networks Influence Technological Innovation of R&D Team Member: A Topology, Measurement, and Consequences

Abstract

The management of the social networks of individual technological innovation has been hampered by the lack of a comprehensive typology for categorizing of social networks. Based on social support and social exchange theory, this study develops a social networks typology that identifies three constructs type of social networks. This study also point to limitation with the measurement of individual innovation and outline the five constructs design to overcome these limitations. The study then examines the relationship between social networks and technological innovation. The results suggest that technological innovation was significantly influenced by the informal centrality and tie strength of all three social network types. Furthermore, the relationship can be explaining more variance by adding specificity asset as positive moderate variable. The theoretical framework of this study brings informal social network phenomenon into technological innovation management in individual level. Both the typology for conceptualizing the nature of social networks and the constructs for scaling the measurement of technological innovation of this study provide a solid foundation on exploring the application in new contexts.