I wasn’t familiar with the work on “value networks”, as described by Verna Allee. At Mesh Forum, there were certainly people who understood social network analysis.
“A value network is a way at looking at any purposeful organization, company, or network. It is any web of relationships that creates value through complex, dynamic exchanges of tangible and intangible value.” […]
Traditional management tools increasingly do not present an accurate picture of how things really work in the new information age. For example, relationships between workers in different regions of the enterprise have become as important as those among workers who are close in proximity on a conventional org chart. Also, new information systems, and the resulting new practices, are creating a different understanding of the enterprise. These systems have genuine value, yet they do not show up as “assets” on traditional balance sheets.
Viewing all relationships as Value Networks provides a better way of understanding what is really generating a return. And it allows management, and individuals, to make the most of both the tangible and the intangible assets of the organization.
IT Conversations | MeshForum | Verna Allee
David Ing blogs at coevolving.com , photoblogs at daviding.com , and microblogs at http://ingbrief.wordpress.com . A profile appears at LinkedIn , and an independent description is on Wikipedia .
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Verna Allee’s talk on value networks revealed that the foundations are in social network analysis. One of the criticisms of early social network analysis is that it tells you who is connected to whom, but the value of connections is more difficult to quantify.
Allee pointed out that her content is available under Creative Commons licensing, so there’s a lot open on the web at http://www.value-networks.com/ .