Dr Paola Zappa

    School of Business

    Lecturer
    Assistant Professor

    Rye Hall
    A
    (01) 474 7755

    Biography

    Paola Zappa earned her PhD in Management from the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy. Prior to joining Maynooth University School of Business, Dr. Zappa has held academic positions in the University of Milano-Bicocca and the University of Italian Switzerland, as well as visiting positions at the University of Manchester (UK) and University of Melbourne (Australia).
    She has taught multiple courses and workshops in the areas of Management, Research Methods and Social Network Analysis at these institutions. Paola is a regular contributor to the ASQ blog.

    Research Interests

    Paola's interests lie at the intersection between Organisational Behaviour and Micro Organisational Theory and aim to illuminate the individual and contextual antecedents of organisational social networks, specifically addressing the dynamics of informal collaboration and knowledge sharing in a variety of organisational settings. Her current research focuses on three related aspects of organisational social networks. A first line of research investigates the interplay between formal and informal organisational structures to understand how social networks can be managed effectively. A second line of research focuses on the co-evolution between social structure, culture and individual behavior. Finally, a third – more recent – line of research examines how informal collaboration, knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding are impacted by the introduction of new technologies.

    Paola regularly presents her work at the Academy of Management (one of her papers at AOM was the runner up for the Organisation and Management Theory divisions best paper), European Group on Organisational Studies (EGOS), and Meetings of the International Network for Social Network Analysis, where she has organized and chaired sessions on organisational networks.

    Peer Reviewed Journals

      Year Publication
    2019 'The dynamic structure of social networks and organizational vocabularies within and across subunits'
    S. Tasselli, P. Zappa, A. Lomi (2019) 'The dynamic structure of social networks and organizational vocabularies within and across subunits'. Organization Science, [Details]
    2017 'The network structure of organizational vocabularies'
    A. Lomi, S. Tasselli, P. Zappa (2017) 'The network structure of organizational vocabularies'. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Volume 53 “Structure, Content and Meaning of Organizational Networks”, [IR Link] [Details]
    2016 'Organizational learning across multi-level networks'
    P. Zappa and G. Robins (2016) 'Organizational learning across multi-level networks'. Social Networks, 44 :295-306 [IR Link] [Details]
    2015 'The analysis of multilevel networks in organizations: models and empirical tests'
    P. Zappa and A. Lomi (2015) 'The analysis of multilevel networks in organizations: models and empirical tests'. Organizational Research Methods, 18 (3):542-569 [IR Link] [Details]
    2015 'Drivers of demand and supply in the Euro interbank market: the role of “Key Players” during the recent turmoil'
    C. Liberati, M. Marzo, P. Zagaglia and P. Zappa (2015) 'Drivers of demand and supply in the Euro interbank market: the role of “Key Players” during the recent turmoil'. Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, 29 (3):207-250 [IR Link] [Details]
    2015 'Identifying Oncological Patient Information Needs to Improve e-Health Communication: a preliminary text-mining analysis'
    R. Falotico, C. Liberati, and P. Zappa (2015) 'Identifying Oncological Patient Information Needs to Improve e-Health Communication: a preliminary text-mining analysis'. Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 31 (7):1115-1126 [IR Link] [Details]
    2011 'The network structure of knowledge sharing among physicians'
    P. Zappa (2011) 'The network structure of knowledge sharing among physicians'. Quality and Quantity, 45 (5):1109-1126 [IR Link] [Details]
    2011 'The interplay of social interaction, individual characteristics and external influence in diffusion of innovation processes: An empirical test in medical settings'
    P. Zappa and P. Mariani (2011) 'The interplay of social interaction, individual characteristics and external influence in diffusion of innovation processes: An empirical test in medical settings'. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 10 :140-147 [IR Link] [Details]
    2010 'Social interaction and volunteer satisfaction: an exploratory study in primary healthcare'
    Zappa, Paola and Zavarrone, Emma (2010) 'Social interaction and volunteer satisfaction: an exploratory study in primary healthcare'. International review of economics, 57 (2):215-231 [IR Link] [Details]

    Book Chapters

      Year Publication
    2017 'Nodal changes: A Mixed-mode Stochastic Actor Oriented Approach to the co-evolution of interorganizational networks and organizational structure'
    A. Lomi, P. Zappa, and F. Pallotti (2017) 'Nodal changes: A Mixed-mode Stochastic Actor Oriented Approach to the co-evolution of interorganizational networks and organizational structure' In: T.A.B Snijders and C.E.G. Steglich (eds). Social Network Dynamics by Examples. Cambridge: New York. NY: Cambridge University Press. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences Series. [Details]
    2016 'Knowledge sharing in organizations: A multilevel network analysis'
    P. Zappa and A. Lomi (2016) 'Knowledge sharing in organizations: A multilevel network analysis' In: E. Lazega, and T. A. B. Snijders (eds). Multilevel Network Analysis for the Social Sciences. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. [Details]

    Conference Publications

      Year Publication
    2015 Knowledge Transfer in Multilevel Networks: Contingent Effect of Organizational and Social Structure
    A. Lomi and P. Zappa (2015) Knowledge Transfer in Multilevel Networks: Contingent Effect of Organizational and Social Structure Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings [Details]

    Conference Contributions

      Year Publication
    2018 Structural constraints and the relationship between repeated collaboration and performance in research-oriented teams.
    P. Zappa (2018) Structural constraints and the relationship between repeated collaboration and performance in research-oriented teams. [Oral Presentation], XXXVIII Sunbelt Conference, Utrecht [Details]
    2018 Multilevel Structure of Interorganizational Networks: Theoretical Mechanisms and Empirical Tests.
    A. Lomi, F. Pallotti, P. Zappa (2018) Multilevel Structure of Interorganizational Networks: Theoretical Mechanisms and Empirical Tests. [Oral Presentation], Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Chicago, USA [Details]
    2017 Bridging with meaning: An empirical study of organizational vocabularies and communication networks in organizations.
    S. Tasselli, P. Zappa, A. Lomi (2017) Bridging with meaning: An empirical study of organizational vocabularies and communication networks in organizations. [Oral Presentation], Academy of Management Proceedings, Atlanta [Details]
    2016 Toward a Multilevel Social Exchange Theory of Advice Relations in Organizations.
    P.Zappa (2016) Toward a Multilevel Social Exchange Theory of Advice Relations in Organizations. [Oral Presentation], Academy of Management Proceedings, Anaheim [Details]

    Teaching Interests

    Paola's teaching focus is on the interplay between psychological, structural and relational antecedents of organisational functioning, including organisational behaviour, micro-organisational theory and more specifically the analysis of social networks and knowledge transfer.
    At Maynooth University Paola is currently teaching a post-graduate module in ‘People, Organisations and Society’(MI612)  and an under-graduate module in 'Organisational Design and Management' (MN202).