Organizational responses to uncertainty in the airline industry: Changes in patterns of communication networks

• Published in: Journal of air transport management 2016-10, Vol.57, p.217-227
• Main Authors: Rubinstein, Saul, Martin-Rios, Carlos, Erhardt, Niclas, Hoffer Gittell, Jody, George, Varghese P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cross-functional boundary spanners; High reliability organizations; Problem solving; Relational coordination; Resilience; Social network analysis; Uncertainty
• ISSN: 0969-6997; 1873-2089
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2016.07.021

Changing environmental conditions introduce uncertainty into organizational operations, and airlines respond in various ways. Scholars traditionally explore responses to environmental uncertainty by drawing upon theories of communication networks, coordination, organizational resilience, and high reliability organizing. Yet, the research has competing communication predictions, which makes planning and designing organizational responses challenging, as the level and type of uncertainty changes over time. Research also does not address variations in responses across different groups of employees. Using longitudinal network data from the United Airlines operations tower in Newark Airport (USA), this research examines communication for the purpose of relational coordination in a dynamically adaptive organizational network. Results reveal different patterns of organizational communication as different employee groups (frontline, cross-functional boundary spanners, and managers) face varying conditions of uncertainty. This paper concludes with theoretical contributions and practical recommendations for managing complex communication networks to respond to dynamic conditions of uncertainty in the airline operations settings. •A case study of Unites Airlines’ operations tower at Newark’s Airport explores workplace communication network dynamics.•Social network analysis sheds new light on relational coordination across different levels of uncertainty.•Management and employees’ communication centrality depends on the varying degrees of uncertainty.•Cross-functional boundary spanning employees are the most central and add operational capacity under moderate uncertainty.•Results both contradict and complement findings from existing communication research in HROs.•It provides practical recommendations for managing complex communication networks in airline OCC.