Although many companies aspire to promote easy interaction and coordination across departments, office locations, and pay scales, the “boundaryless” organization—like the paperless office—hasn’t materialized.

The corporate silo is alive and well.

This observation is supported in a recent working paper, “Communication (and Coordination?) in a Modern, Complex Organization,” written by Harvard Business School postdoctoral fellow Adam M. Kleinbaum, and professors Toby E. Stuart and Michael L. Tushman.

In an unnamed company with over 100,000 employees, the team analyzed over 100 million e-mails and 60 million electronic calendar entries over a three-month period. The results provide an unmatched look inside the “black box” that hides what Stuart calls the “soft wiring” of previously invisible social networks.

In this Q&A, Stuart says the team was taken aback by the lack of communication across the organization. In short, most people tended to communicate with others in their own group or with peers. Among the exceptions: women.

Read more at HBS Working Knowledge…