Information Flow Structure in Large-Scale Product Development Organizational Networks

Abstract

This paper analyzes the statistical properties of real-world networks of people engaged in product development (PD) activities. We show that complex PD networks display similar statistical patterns to other real-world complex social, information, biological and technological networks. The paper lays out the foundations for understanding the properties of other intra- and inter-organizational networks that are realized by specific network architectures. The paper also provides a general framework towards characterizing the functionality, dynamics, robustness, and fragility of smart business networks.