Friendship and unionization in a hi-tech firm

Post date: Dec 02, 2011 3:56:40 PM

Overview

Network Dataset

The dataset name is Hi-Tech, and includes the following:

• • hi-tech.net: 36 vertices (employees), 147 arcs (friendship ties), no edges, no loops, no line values.

  • hi-tech.union.clu: classification of the (36) employees according to their stance towards unionization: 0 - no opinion/not known, 1 - supporters, 2 - opposed, 3 - top managers (opposed).

  • hi-tech.paj: Pajek project file containing both files.

Background

The case is a small hi-tech computer firm which sells, installs, and maintains computer systems. The network contains the friendship ties among the employees, which were gathered by means of the question: Who do you consider to be a personal friend? Three employees (Fran, Quincy, and York) did not return the questionnaire. Note that most friendship nominations are reciprocated, but not all (112 out of 147). A friendship choice (arc) is only included in the network if both persons involved acknowledge it.

Some months later, employees tried to unionize the firm: they sought support among the employees to let the union have a say in the firm. The three top managers and three employees who were not directly involved were opposed to union certification of the firm. Five employees were pro- union, but two of them (Chris and Ovid) did not actively advocate the pro- union position. At the end, the proposal to unionize the firm was voted down. Chris resigned from the firm ten days before the vote because he did not want to participate in it. He rejoined the firm two days after the vote.

References

• • D. Krackhardt's 'The ties that torture: Simmelian tie analysis in organizations' (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 16 (1999), 183-210).

  • W. de Nooy, A. Mrvar, & V. Batagelj, Exploratory Social Network Analysis with Pajek (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), Chapter 7.

History

• • Original author: D. Krackhardt (Professor of Organizations, Heinz School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University ; krack@andrew.cmu.edu).

  • Data compiled into Pajek data files by W. de Nooy, 2001.