Network-Informed Team Formation in Management Education: Translating Social Network Theory Into Teaching Practice

Abstract

Team-based experiential learning is central to management education, yet team formation is often reduced to an administrative task rather than used as a pedagogical design opportunity. This article reframes student team formation as a deliberate instructional intervention, drawing on social network theory, social learning, social capital, and existing literature. It introduces seven network-informed principles for structuring teams: distributing central actors, including brokers, integrating peripheral members, diversifying cliques, balancing tie strength, anchoring with supportive or neutral ties, and avoiding negative pairings. A complementary seven-step framework shows how instructors can collect and analyze classroom network data to design intentional, transparent, and equitable teams. Applicable to undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive management courses, this approach strengthens communication, knowledge-sharing, and distributed leadership; fosters problem-solving and innovation; increases diversity of ideas; promotes resilience; builds psychological safety; and improves fairness and cohesion, preparing students for the relational complexities of managerial life.