Most leaders of the fastest growing companies consider innovation to be the source of their strongest competitive advantage; more organisations consider it a strategic priority. Due to technological advances, organisations have porous boundaries and collaborate externally to innovate. Even within, deployment of cross-functional teams has sidestepped traditional hierarchies. The study establishes the need for and helps to; map the entire social network and sub-networks within organisations that fulfil requirements conducive to innovation. The paper could be useful for organisations to understand and unlock innovative capabilities without restructuring. Methods described allow identification of policies to enable diffusion of innovative ideas. © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.