Interaction Value Analysis: Past, Present and Future

Interaction Value Analysis is a modeling methodology originally intended to illustrate how full connectivity between members of an organization affects the shape of the organization. Technology is already transforming workplaces into fully-connected networks by providing instant access, subject only to the availability of the communication participants, as well as perfect knowledge of the abilities and needs of other organization members. As IVA developed, it became clear that some elements of contingency theories developed to guide existing organizations were similar to the recommendations that IVA would give to a fully-connected organization. This meant that the phenomenon captured in the theory was not dependent on the absence or weakness of certain links between members. Lately, it has been possible to correlate financial performance of existing organizations to degree of adherence to IVA recommendations in certain types of organizations, namely those that display low uncertainty. This makes it interesting to seek a modified IVA formulation that relaxes the assumption of perfect knowledge. Doing so would allow IVA to demonstrate that it can replicate and hence simplify the explanation of phenomena noted in the Contingency Theory literature concerning organizations that face uncertainty in their environments. Contact: Walid Fawzi Nasrallah Assistant Professor Engineering Management Program Faculty of Engineering and Architecture American University of Beirut Beirut Lebanon 1107-2020 Telephone: [961] 1 350000 x3458 Email: [email protected]