Measuring the communicative constitution of organization as network formation

Abstract

We propose a set of metrics, based upon the four flows theory of the communicative constitution of organizations, to evaluate the emergence of organization in a social network. Using an agent-based model (ABM), we validate that our metrics chart the evolution of partial organizations as the population progresses from complete dissociation to unified allegiance. Our metrics allow the evaluation of organizational strength much more efficiently than previous, context-specific methods. The simulation produces other results consistent with human society, such as stable heterogeneity of structures and organizational figureheads, further validating our results. The ABM of emergent organization incorporates only widely-observed cognitive behaviors and the recognition by agents of group membership, without any cooperation among the agents. The four flows are produced solely by agents biasing their limited communication resources in favor of allies. While reaffirming the centrality of communication patterns to organization, we thus also challenge the minimal conditions required to produce organizing behavior and complex social structures.