Network Dynamics when Selecting Work Team Members

When selecting work team members several behavioral components concur. In this chapter we summarizes our line of research on this topic; here, we articulate our results and provide suggestions for extending our analysis in order to shed light on the selection of work team members. First, a computational model — together with a theoretical approach and the results of two human experiments where subjects interact in a similar game — allows us to identify some of the most important determinants. Our results suggest that the occurrence of two factors is crucial: the presence of leaders as aggregators of knowledge and the presence of agents able to expand and improve their higher profit projects. Second, we explicitly assume the presence of formal leaders. By analyzing the results of this modified model, we shed light on the conditions which allow the emergence of effective leaders.