Papers by Michael Siciliano
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2020
Governments have long-standing interests in preventing market failures and enhancing innovation i... more Governments have long-standing interests in preventing market failures and enhancing innovation in strategic industries. Public policy regarding domestic technology is critical to both national security and economic prosperity. Governments often seek to enhance their global competitiveness by promoting private sector cooperative activity at the inter-organizational level. Research on network governance has illuminated the structure of boundary-spanning collaboration mainly for programs with immediate public or nonprofit objectives. Far less research has examined how governments might accelerate private sector cooperation to prevent market failures or to enhance innovation. The theoretical contribution of this research is to suggest that government programs might catalyze cooperative activity by accelerating the preferential attachment mechanism inherent in social networks. We analyze the long-term effects of a government program on the strategic alliance network of 451 organizations...
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2022
ArXiv, 2021
Public administration has produced a significant body of literature on public sector networks, ex... more Public administration has produced a significant body of literature on public sector networks, examining network drivers, dynamics, and outcomes. However, this literature has yet to examine networks in terms of intervention, where network mechanisms are manipulated to promote behavioral change and improve social, organizational, and community outcomes. Building on Valente’s (2012) typology, we develop a framework for strategies of public sector network intervention. First, we describe the core concepts in the theory of network interventions found primarily in public health. Next, we expand the existing typology of interventions to include macro-institutional strategies suited to public administration settings. We then identify extant public sector literatures that provide the building blocks for a framework for intervention. Finally, we classify the modes of intervention along three dimensions and discuss how each strategy might be implemented in practice. This typology categorizes ...
Public Administration Review, 2020
American Educational Research Journal, 2016
This study explores the role of knowledge access and peer influence as mechanisms by which networ... more This study explores the role of knowledge access and peer influence as mechanisms by which networks may shape teacher self-efficacy. The basic premise is twofold: (a) that peer interaction provides opportunities to access teaching relevant knowledge and thus may reduce uncertainty and (b) that self-efficacy beliefs may be shaped by the efficacy beliefs of the peers one is directly connected to in the advice network. The results suggest that both mechanisms may shape teacher self-efficacy and that the quality of ties, rather than the quantity, may have a stronger influence on self-efficacy. These findings offer new insight into the potential ways in which social networks and collegial interaction influence teacher beliefs.
The American Review of Public Administration, 2016
Given the complexity of their work, street-level bureaucrats rely on their professional networks ... more Given the complexity of their work, street-level bureaucrats rely on their professional networks to access implementation resources and information. Despite the acknowledged importance of these networks, little research exists on how network structure and composition influence frontline performance. This study analyzes a unique data set that includes the professional networks of more than 420 teachers in 21 public schools along with 3 years of administrative data on student test scores and student demographics. Using value-added models derived from the student test data, objective measures of teacher performance were calculated. The results suggest that street-level performance is influenced by both network structure and composition. Thus, the actions of street-level workers are not independent responses to individual dilemmas, but rather are developed and shaped by specific features of the social structure in which the individual bureaucrat is embedded.
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2016
Public Administration Review, 2015
Interpersonal networks are increasingly important for organizational learning and performance. Ho... more Interpersonal networks are increasingly important for organizational learning and performance. However, little is known about how these networks emerge. In this article, exponential random graph models are employed to explore the underlying processes of advice network formation in 15 organizations. The author examines the influence of (1) structural effects (reciprocity, transitivity, multiplexity), (2) actor attribute effects (job function, tenure, education, self-efficacy), and (3) peer competition. Results suggest that employees rely more on reciprocity, closure, and similarity in job function than on peer expertise or status when seeking advice. In addition, employees who perceive greater levels of competition with peers are significantly less likely to both seek and provide advice. As public organizations look to private sector strategies that promote internal competition to improve efficiency and accountability, public managers need to be aware of the negative implications those strategies can have on interpersonal networks and organizational learning.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013
This article examines the impact of problem-solving and creativity exercises on student interest ... more This article examines the impact of problem-solving and creativity exercises on student interest in public policy making and behavior related to civic engagement. Researchers have long described policy making as a function of problem solving. Creativity has also been identified as an important component of the process. While these skills are promoted in upper level and graduate courses, they are difficult to implement in introductory curricula. The authors outline a series of problem-based creativity exercises designed for an introductory public policy course and explore their effects using a nonequivalent control group design. The article both analyzes short-term results and also contributes strategies to teach civic engagement. Dialogue on the use of these exercises adds to the existing stock of knowledge regarding civic engagement.
The declining power of unions is one defining characteristic of civil societies in post-industria... more The declining power of unions is one defining characteristic of civil societies in post-industrial, advanced capitalist countries. In the literature, structural changes in the economy, and variations in domestic institutional arrangements are identified as the most important factors to explain the weakened power of labor organizations. Workers today are not only a more heterogonous group in terms of their interests and income, but the lines that separate employers and employees are increasingly indistinct. Moreover, mobility of factors has trivialized the links between time and space, causing businesses to turn away from strict hierarchies and toward less centralized organizational structures. As a result of these new networks, it has never been more difficult to initiate collective action and build labor solidarity; however there have been notable instances of bargaining successes for labor. The successful 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike cost the entertainment indus...
Public Administration Review, 2017
Utilizing a cognitive perspective, this article examines the social processes through which teach... more Utilizing a cognitive perspective, this article examines the social processes through which teachers come to understand the Common Core State Standards. The authors begin by identifying three beliefs that have important implications for policy implementation: self-efficacy, resource adequacy, and value for clients. They measure those beliefs and the Common Core discussion networks that emerge among teachers at three points in time. Through the use of SIENA models, the authors explore how networks and beliefs coevolve within schools. Unlike prior research on social networks, which consistently finds strong homophilous tendencies, this research finds no evidence that teachers seek out coworkers who hold similar beliefs. Rather, teachers relied on preexisting formal and informal relationships to guide interactions. Those interactions were characterized by social influence, whereby a teacher's own beliefs adapted toward the beliefs held by the members of their social network. The findings offer a novel perspective on the complex dynamic that occurs within organizations as new policies are unveiled and employees interact with one another to understand the changes those policies entail.
American Educational Research Journal, 2015
This study explores the role of knowledge access and peer influence as mechanisms by which networ... more This study explores the role of knowledge access and peer influence as mechanisms by which networks may shape teacher self-efficacy. The basic premise is twofold: (i) that peer interaction provides opportunities to access teaching relevant knowledge and thus may reduce uncertainty, and (ii) that self-efficacy beliefs may be shaped by the efficacy beliefs of the peers one is directly connected to in the advice network. The results suggest that both mechanisms may shape teacher self-efficacy and that the quality of ties, rather than the quantity, may have a stronger influence on self-efficacy. These findings offer new insight into the potential ways in which social networks and collegial interaction influence teacher beliefs.
Utilizing a cognitive perspective, we examine the social processes through which teachers come to... more Utilizing a cognitive perspective, we examine the social processes through which teachers come to understand the Common Core State Standards. We begin by identifying three beliefs that have important implications for policy implementation: (i) self-efficacy, (ii) resource adequacy, and (iii) value for clients. We then measure those beliefs and the Common Core discussion networks that emerge among teachers at three different points in time. Through the use of SIENA models we explore how networks and beliefs co-evolve within schools. Unlike prior research on social networks, which consistently finds strong homophilious tendencies, we find no evidence that teachers seek out coworkers who hold similar beliefs. Rather, teachers relied on preexisting formal and informal relationships to guide interactions. Those interactions were characterized by social influence, whereby a teacher's own beliefs adapted toward the beliefs held by the members of their social network. The findings offer a novel perspective on the complex dynamic that occurs within organizations as new policies are unveiled and employees interact with one another to understand the changes those policies entail.
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2017
While much of the research on learning in the public sector examines collaborative arrangements a... more While much of the research on learning in the public sector examines collaborative arrangements and interorganizational networks, it often stresses the importance of individual dialogue and social interaction as primary methods of learning. Given the collective focus, the current emphasis on organizational interaction has left the individual mechanisms by which learning occurs unspecified and understudied. This study takes as its unit of analysis the dyadic, advice seeking ties that operate as the pathways by which knowledge is transferred and developed among organizational members. Rather than exploring a single advice or knowledge sharing network, this study offers a novel approach for examining the social dynamics of organizational learning by linking two different types of task-relevant knowledge to the social networks that emerge when employees search for that knowledge. By measuring where expertise resides in each knowledge specific network and by modeling the processes and conditions affecting knowledge transfer, this study is able to analyze how efficiently organizations tap into the resources and skills that already exist among their members. The findings suggest that employees tend to ignore the experts when seeking tacit information, and instead rely on those they feel most comfortable with and with whom are most accessible. Several important distinctions to the patterns of network formation are noted between public and private organizations. Overall, the results suggest that public managers need to pay attention to the costs of knowledge sharing as much as its benefits in order to promote organizational learning.
Network studies on Cognitive Social Structures collect relational data on re-spondents' direct ti... more Network studies on Cognitive Social Structures collect relational data on re-spondents' direct ties and their perception of ties among all other individuals in the network. When reporting their perception networks, respondents commit two types of errors, namely, omission (false negatives) and commission (false positives) errors. We first assess the relationship between these two error types, and their contributions on overall respondent accuracy. Next we propose a method for estimating networks based on perceptions of a random sample of respondents from a bounded social network, which utilizes the Receiver Operator Characteristic curve for balancing the tradeoffs between omission and commission errors.
The production of scientific knowledge is an inherently social process making professional networ... more The production of scientific knowledge is an inherently social process making professional networks important for producing science outcomes. Although prior work has demonstrated the connection between collaboration and productivity, most research that examines scientist networks begins from the perspective that structure predicts productivity. Institutional approaches to explaining productivity are useful, but generally ignore the role of individual agency or strategic network behavior. Our study utilizes the dynamic perspective of network churn to assess how professional network composition and structure change overtime via processes of network exploration and exploitation. Using two waves of survey data from a national sample of academic scientists and engineers across six disciplines in the United States, we investigate how network churn affects the quantity and quality of scientific production. Our results suggest that while network exploration generally improves production quality, it can hurt quantity. Network exploitation tends to have the opposite effect, resulting in short term gains but potentially limiting the innovativeness of future research. By recognizing the tradeoffs associated with alternative networking strategies, policy makers in universities and other research organizations can begin focusing on interventions that more effectively target scientists’ strategic network behavior.
This article analyzes network features and processes that influence organizational interaction du... more This article analyzes network features and processes that influence organizational interaction during extreme events. Previous research on network formation under conditions of stress and uncertainty accounts for several managerial factors as well as the role played by information technology and related information infrastructures. This article contributes to previous work by illustrating key network features and processes such as homophily, transitivity, degree distributions, and propinquity and how they relate to network formation during extreme events. Understanding these factors is important because they influence not just network formation but subsequent information and resource flow and, ultimately, network performance. We apply these concepts to the case of Hurricane Katrina and employ exponential random graph models to determine the key network factors that influenced formation. The article concludes by discussing implications to theory and practice.
Given the complexity of their work, street-level bureaucrats rely on their professional networks ... more Given the complexity of their work, street-level bureaucrats rely on their professional networks to access implementation resources and information. Despite the acknowledged importance of these networks, little research exists on how network structure and composition influence front-line performance. This study analyzes a unique dataset that includes the professional networks of over 420 teachers in 21 public schools along with three years of administrative data on student test scores and student demographics. Using value-added models derived from the student test data, objective measures of teacher performance were calculated. The results suggest that street-level performance is influenced by both network structure and composition. Thus, the actions of street-level workers are not independent responses to individual dilemmas, but rather are developed and shaped by specific features of the social structure in which the individual bureaucrat is embedded.
Siciliano, M.D. (2015). Professional networks and street-level performance: How public school teachers’ advice networks influence student performance. The American Review of Public Administration. doi: 10.1177/0275074015577110
Interpersonal networks are increasingly important factors for organizational learning and perform... more Interpersonal networks are increasingly important factors for organizational learning and performance. However, little is known about how these networks emerge. Exponential random graph models are used to explore the underlying processes of advice network formation in 15 organizations. This study examines the influence of (i) structural effects (reciprocity, transitivity, multiplexity) (ii) actor attribute effects (job function, tenure, education, self-efficacy), and (iii) peer competition. The results suggest employees rely more on reciprocity, closure, and similarity in job function, rather than on peer expertise or status when seeking advice. The results also show that employees who perceive greater levels of competition with peers are significantly less likely to both seek and provide advice. As public organizations continually look toward private sector strategies that promote internal competition to improve efficiency and accountability, public managers need to be aware of the potential negative implications those strategies can have on interpersonal networks and organizational learning.
Siciliano, M.D. (2015). Advice networks in public organizations: The role of structure, internal competition, and individual attributes. Public Administration Review, 75(4), 548-559. doi: 10.1111/puar.12362
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Papers by Michael Siciliano
Siciliano, M.D. (2015). Professional networks and street-level performance: How public school teachers’ advice networks influence student performance. The American Review of Public Administration. doi: 10.1177/0275074015577110
Siciliano, M.D. (2015). Advice networks in public organizations: The role of structure, internal competition, and individual attributes. Public Administration Review, 75(4), 548-559. doi: 10.1111/puar.12362
Siciliano, M.D. (2015). Professional networks and street-level performance: How public school teachers’ advice networks influence student performance. The American Review of Public Administration. doi: 10.1177/0275074015577110
Siciliano, M.D. (2015). Advice networks in public organizations: The role of structure, internal competition, and individual attributes. Public Administration Review, 75(4), 548-559. doi: 10.1111/puar.12362