ABSTRACT Social network theory has produced conflicting results regarding the link between different social network structures—bridging versus bonding—and idea generation. To address this conundrum, we conduct a naturally occurring quasi-experiment of 126 open and 108 closed groups within an Enterprise Social Media (ESM) system of a multinational enterprise. Our findings show that idea generation occurs when the type of social network structure—bridging or bonding—is matched to a group’s openness or closedness, respectively. We further show that the reverse is counterproductive: when closed groups display bridging ties and open groups display bonding ties, idea generation is significantly undermined. Theoretically, these findings clarify the conditions and mechanisms by which both bridging and bonding can result in idea generation and provide a deeper understanding of the use of ESM for idea generation. Practically, our findings provide valuable and actionable insights regarding the use of ESM for idea generation in groups.

中文翻译：

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企业社交媒体中的创意生成：开放组与封闭组及其网络结构

摘要 社会网络理论在不同社会网络结构之间的联系——桥接与结合——和创意产生方面产生了相互矛盾的结果。为了解决这个难题，我们在跨国企业的企业社交媒体 (ESM) 系统中对 126 个开放组和 108 个封闭组进行了自然发生的准实验。我们的研究结果表明，当社交网络结构的类型——桥接或联系——分别与一个群体的开放性或封闭性相匹配时，就会产生想法。我们进一步表明，反过来会适得其反：当封闭群体表现出桥接关系而开放群体表现出紧密联系时，创意的产生会受到显着破坏。理论上，这些发现阐明了桥接和结合可以导致创意产生的条件和机制，并提供了对 ESM 用于创意产生的更深入理解。实际上，我们的研究结果提供了有关使用 ESM 进行小组创意生成的宝贵且可操作的见解。