Community structure in project organizational networks (PONs): a modularity theory-based exploration

Purpose Project organizational networks (PONs) exhibit complex relational patterns that traditional whole-centric (e.g. scale-free/small-world) and ego-centric (e.g. centrality) analyses fail to fully unravel. Crucially, (1) limited exploration of the evolution of the community structure in PONs at the meso-structural level, which is essential for understanding collaborative clusters, and (2) limited understanding of the essence and implications of the community structure in PONs. This study bridges this gap by innovatively applying complex network community analysis to identify community structures in PONs and explore their evolution using organizational modularity theory. Design/methodology/approach Using ten-year data from China’s National Quality Award Projects, we constructed PONs via two-mode projection. We then applied the Girvan-Newman algorithm and modularity function Q to perform static and evolving analyses of community structures within the largest connected components. Findings Our original contributions reveal (1) three composition attributes governing communities: professional consistency, administrative subordination and geographical proximity; (2) seven evolutionary events driving community dynamics: birth, expansion, merger, maintaining, split, contraction and death and (3) modular PONs theory: communities function as semi-autonomous modules governed by the above attributes, and their evolution (PONs’ modularization) reflects integration and/or disintegration processes adapting to market/technical demands. Originality/value This study innovatively applies the complex network community method to PONs research. By resolving the meso-centric knowledge gap, we innovate the theoretical paradigm of PONs and establish a foundation for modularity theory-based management strategies.