Exploring Shared Work Values and Work Collaboration With a Network Approach

Abstract

A real-life case study presented in this chapter reports on how organizational network analysis approach was used in a medium-sized Italian company with circa 100 employees to examine how the company employees were connected by shared values at work, what these values are, and whether and how their value connectedness impacted the quality of their collaboration. The findings indicate that there was a positive correlation between shared work values and work collaboration, present benchmarks for network parameters, as well as propose macro-categories of work values. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to use the network-analysis approach to explore shared values and employee collaboration at work. The chapter should be of substantial interest not only to academic scholars but also to organizational leaders and HR practitioners.