The network structure of management roles in a large matrix firm

Advances during the last decade in network methodology make it possible to carry out systematic surveys of complex network structures in large populations. Critical variables describing the structure of a manager's network can then be linked to information on the manager's performance within the firm as a guide for management education programs. The authors report on an example application in one of America's leading high-technology firms. The contact networks that high level managers build around their jobs are described inform and content, with a specific focus on the contacts they deem most valuable and most troublesome.