Invitations and Becomings

I think I may have found a new tool for developing the idea of an Intranet Sociology that has been floating around with me since April.

Value network analysis, as described by Verna Allee in this white paper, attempts to treat organisations as value-creating networks. According to Allee, a network perspective on value-creation is itself valuable at a time when the behaviour of organisations can no longer be adequately interpreted through the mechanistic model of the value chain. This is especially true given the breakdown of the distinction between employees and customers in the creation of products (see my post on Coase's Law).

Another interesting aspect of Value network analysis is that it explicitly seeks to include exchanges of intangibles in its analysis. This means that the analysis is not restricted to the creation of goods or services or their component part. It can extend to

"intangibles that [play] a vital economic role – in building
business relationships, creating value for the participants, and assuring that business transactions run
smoothly." (Allee, 5)

Allee is also well aware that these are not usually formal or monetary exchanges, and that they resemble a Barter economy beneath the material economy in any organisation. Insights like this may be really useful in articulating and ultimately countering the problem of Management Creep I identified back in April.