Sameer B. Srivastava

Graduate Student in Organizational Behavior / Sociology

Biographical Note

Sameer B. Srivastava is a Ph.D. Candidate in the joint program in Sociology and Organizational Behavior at Harvard University. His research examines the dynamics of intra-organizational networks and their consequences for individual and organizational outcomes.

His dissertation is a multi-method study of social capital activation – i.e., the choice to affiliate with certain individuals among the set of available actors – during uncertain times in organizational life. These activation choices are important to understand because they have potential consequences for individual and organizational performance. Existing theory leads to seemingly contradictory expectations about network activation under uncertainty: one perspective predicts that people will hunker down (i.e., decrease network size and range), while another suggests they will venture out (i.e., increase network size and range).

The three empirical chapters in the dissertation help reconcile these competing theoretical perspectives by drawing on data from disparate empirical settings: an information services provider; a software development lab based in Beijing, China; and a non-profit health care organization. Multiple analytical strategies are used to identify the causal effects of uncertainty on network activation: an exogenous shock – a restructuring event (Chapter 1); a field experiment that employs a differences-in-differences design (Chapter 2); an experimental study (2x2 factorial design) with random assignment to treatment conditions (Chapter 3).

Taken together, findings from this dissertation contribute to our understanding of social capital activation; the interrelationships among culture, cognition, and social networks; the social psychology of affiliation under conditions of uncertainty; and gender differences in workplace social networks.

Outside of the dissertation, Sameer's other research projects include:

“An Intra-Organizational Ecology of Individual Attainment.” (With Toby E. Stuart and Christopher C. Liu.) To be presented at upcoming ASQ/OMT/HEC conference.

“Shadowing Networks: A Field Experiment to Assess the Effects of a Corporate Talent Management (Shadowing) Program on Workplace Networks.” Manuscript in preparation.

“Network Change Following Participation in a Corporate Service Corps.” (With Christopher Marquis and Adam M. Kleinbaum.) Data analysis.

“Stigma, Sympathy, and Social Capital Activation in Job Searches.” (With Andras Tilcsik.) Data collection.

Sameer has taught economics and statistics at Harvard, where he twice earned a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from the Derek Bok Center. He has also served as a facilitator in the Leading during Uncertainty module of Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development and as an instructor on effective leadership styles for the Harvard College Leadership Institute and the Harvard-Radcliffe Women's Leadership Conference.

Prior to joining the doctoral program, Sameer was a partner of Monitor Group, a global management consultancy. He served dozens of clients across a range of industries on issues of business and organizational strategy. He also co-founded and served on the global leadership team of Monitor's organizational strategy and leadership development practice.

05/20/2011

Research Interests

Organizations, Occupations, and Work; Economic Sociology.

Previous Degrees

AB magna cum laude in Economics, Harvard College; MBA, Harvard Business School; AM, Sociology, Harvard University.

Presentations and Publications

Suggested Links

Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva

Contact

617-895-8707 (Phone)
617-496-5794 (FAX)

Morgan Hall T-69 Harvard Business School Boston, MA 02163