Wayne Baker Coauthors New Study Published in Social Networks Journal

The need for belonging is at the heart of new research co-authored by Michigan Ross Professor and Center for Positive Organizations Faculty Director Wayne Baker and published in the January 2021 issue of the journal Social Networks.

In “Positive Emotions, Instrumental Resources, and Organizational Network Evolution: Theorizing via Simulation Research,” Baker and co-author Ryan W. Quinn write that people often prioritize positive emotions over acquiring necessary resources when choosing interaction partners at work.

The researchers set out to examine the dynamics behind this interpersonal interplay and its impacts on organizational performance and networks.

“The precise causal relationships between the micro and the macro have not been well understood. Research on affect in organizations has tended to focus on micro-dynamics, while research on organizational network evolution has largely neglected the role of affect. Our study connects these two separate streams of theory and research,” Baker and Quinn write. “We hope that our study will stimulate future research on the role of affect in organizations and encourage evolutionary network theorists to include affect in their models.”