A Theory of Group Stability

Abstract

Some groups endure longer, are more stable, and are better able than other groups to incorporate new members or ideas without losing their distinctiveness. I present a simple model of individual behavior based on the thesis that interaction leads to shared knowledge and that relative shared knowlege leads to interaction. Using this model I examine the structural and cultural bases of group stability. Groups that are stable in the short run do not necessarily retain their distinctiveness in the long run as new members enter or new ideas are discovered.

Choosing Work Group Members: Balancing Similarity, Competence, and Familiarity

“…However, we would expect that ongoing choices of whom to work with in existing groups are more constrained (e.g., by membership, proximity, and task) than are the one-shot decisions of whom one would like to work with in the future. Over time, the dynamics of behavior within organizations is a function of the interplay between these one-shot and ongoing choices, as well as between individuals and the larger network (see Banks & Carley, 1996;Carley, 1991;Zeggelink, 1993). Future work needs to be done on the process of ongoing dyadic interaction and the processes, possibly chaotic, that affect such ongoing choices.…”

“…Theories on friendship, group formation, and network evolution all suggest ways in which confidence in a positive work relationship might be achieved. Various scholars have argued that similarity and affect (e.g., Carley, 1991Carley, , 1999Lazarsfeld & Merton, 1954;Lott & Lott, 1964), competence (e.g., Thibaut & Kelley, 1959), and familiarity (e.g., Zander & Havelin, 1960) increase people's preference to interact and work with one another. Others have argued for the importance of individual indicators of competence such as status (Berger, Wagner, & Zelditch, 1985) and values congruence (Cable & Judge, 1996).…”

“…One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that people with similar demographic backgrounds have more "language compatibility" than do those who are dissimilar (March & Simon, 1958, p. 67). Others have argued that common knowledge or shared mental models may produce more opportunities for interaction (Carley, 1990(Carley, , 1991Kaufer & Carley, 1993). In their review of the diversity literature, Williams and O'Reilly (1998) observed that similarity can result in more frequent communication, more positive attitudes, and decreased turnover in organizations.…”

Transcultural Brokerage: The Role of Cosmopolitans in Bridging Structural and Cultural Holes

“…We propose that the degree of cultural embeddedness shapes the interpersonal network of cosmopolitans and influences their capacity to bridge across "global" structural holes. Specifically, as individuals are embedded along multiple social dimensions, cultural embeddedness is related to structural embeddedness-the configuration of interpersonal networks and the extent to which individuals are anchored in relatively cohesive social communities (Goldberg et al, 2016)-through homophily and social influence mechanisms that create mutually reinforcing linkages between cultural embeddedness and structural embeddedness (Carley, 1991;DellaPosta, Shi, & Macy 2015; McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Cook, 2001). In fact, culture and social relations empirically interpenetrate with and mutually condition one another so that it is almost impossible to conceive of the one without the other (Emirbayer & Goodwin, 1994;Lizardo, 2006;Vaisey & Lizardo, 2010).…”

Preference effects on friendship choice: Evidence from an online field experiment

“…Second, it facilitates communication (Carley, 1991;Mayhew et al, 1995) and sharing of resources (Adler and Kwon, 2002;Kavanaugh et al, 2005;Putnam, 2001) among members of the same group. Third, it fosters individuals' group loyalty and contributes to the stability of social ties with other group members (Brewer, 1979;Van Vugt and Hart, 2004).…”