"Collectivist Analysis of Adaptive Leadership, Interaction, and Cliques on Organizational Capacity"

The thesis of this mixed methods analysis proposes that organizational functions are described more adequately and fully as collective, intra-influence group dynamics than as activities of individuals. Three dynamics affecting the capacity of an organization to function effectively are proposed: adaptive leadership, or agents actively leading each other to process information; network interaction; and cliques. We used qualitative interviews, dynamic network analysis, and response surface methodology to analyze data from an organization in the education industry. The analysis found that the capacity of the network to process task-related information was significantly affected by the vibrancy of cliques and by adaptive leadership across a network. Interaction was mediated by the actions of cliques. Implications for research and for practice are provided.