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History of Organizational Network Analysis

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Description

This interactive timeline traces the evolution of Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) across nine decades, from Jacob Moreno's foundational sociometry work in 1934 to today's AI-powered organizational graph digital twins. Events are grouped into eight categories — Foundations, Theory, Methods, ONA Practice, Data & Platforms, Products, Workplace, and AI Era — so you can see how academic theory, practitioner tools, and technology platforms co-evolved.

How to Use

  • Pan the timeline by clicking and dragging
  • Zoom using the + / − buttons (scroll wheel works in fullscreen mode)
  • Hover over any event to see a context tooltip
  • Click an event to view full details in the panel below
  • Filter by category using the buttons above the timeline

Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives

After completing this activity students will be able to:

  1. Trace the major milestones in the development of organizational network analysis
  2. Explain how theoretical advances (e.g., Granovetter's weak ties, Burt's structural holes) shaped ONA practice
  3. Identify the technology shifts that made large-scale ONA feasible (digital exhaust, graph databases, AI)
  4. Evaluate the impact of remote/hybrid work on collaboration analytics

Activities

  1. Guided Exploration — Have students filter to "Theory" and summarize each milestone in their own words
  2. Gap Analysis — Ask students to identify a period or topic that is underrepresented and propose an event that should be added
  3. Connecting the Dots — Students pick two events from different categories and write a paragraph explaining how they are related
  4. Modern Extension — Students research one development from 2024-2025 and draft a JSON entry to extend the timeline

Assessment

  • Short-answer: Explain why the 2010s saw an explosion in commercial ONA tools
  • Reflection: How did the COVID-19 pandemic change the kinds of questions organizations ask about collaboration networks?

References

  1. Moreno, J.L. - Who Shall Survive? (1934) - Wikipedia - Foundation of sociometry and sociograms
  2. Granovetter, M. - The Strength of Weak Ties (1973) - Wikipedia - Seminal paper on weak tie theory in social networks
  3. Burt, R. - Structural Holes (1992) - Wikipedia - Theory of brokerage advantages in networks
  4. Cross, R. & Parker, A. - The Hidden Power of Social Networks (2004) - Wikipedia - Operationalizing ONA for management practice
  5. vis-timeline Documentation - vis.js - JavaScript library used to render this timeline