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Players and Purists: Networking Strategies and Agency of Service Professionals
Abstract
Social capital research has established the performance advantages of networking. However, we know surprisingly little about the strategies individuals employ when networking and, in particular, the underlying agency mechanisms involved. Network analysis tends to presume structural determinism and ignore issues of endogeneity rather than explore how actors draw on schemas, beliefs, and values in developing their networks. This empirical paper induces three networking strategies of newly promoted service professionals operating within two firms (AuditCo and ConsultCo) over a 16-month period. Using a grounded theory building approach, we first establish a set of core categories that capture networking behavior. We then conduct a cluster analysis revealing three distinct networking configurations or strategies: Devoted Players, Purists, and Selective Players. We also reveal the distinct agency involved in each profile and investigate the extent to which these networking strategies correlate with variables that shed light on issues of endogeneity and deepen our understanding of the strategies (including network structure and socialization progress in the players' new jobs).
... This self-effacement may be due to difficulties in socializing or a belief that users are insincere by establishing ties solely for instrumental purposes (Casciaro et al. 2014;Kuwabara et al. 2018). By contrast, others enjoy creating instrumental ties and actively aim to establishing them (Bensaou et al. 2014). To put it differently, the motivation to proactively adjust one's career trajectory largely seems to depend on an individual's beliefs and attitudes toward such instrumentally oriented behaviors (Kuwabara et al. 2018). ...
... Specifically, it is not enough that the premium membership offers more visibility on WorkSMN; the freelancers must also proactively use these new networking opportunities to accumulate SC. In other words, they need to have the corresponding attitudes, values, and beliefs necessary to motivate their pursuit of instrumental ties (Ahuja et al. 2012;Bensaou et al. 2014;Kuwabara et al. 2018;Porter and Woo 2015). For instance, Pollack et al. (2015) demonstrate that entrepreneurs who are motivated by growth and advancement cultivate more relevant contacts for their business during the week. ...
... Prior research focuses on the benefits of the network itself rather than the proactive and purposive actions that structure the network, resulting in numerous calls to take the latter issue more seriously (Ahuja et al. 2012;Bensaou et al. 2014;Borgatti and Halgin 2011;Stuart and Sorenson 2007). Our research aim is to assess whether individuals' access to advanced networking features on work-related SMNs helps them accumulate more SC and which type of features support this accumulation. ...
Work-related social media networks (SMNs) like LinkedIn introduce novel networking opportunities and features that promise to help individuals establish, extend, and maintain social capital (SC). Typically, work-related SMNs offer access to advanced networking features only to premium users in order to encourage basic users to become paying members. Yet, little is known about whether access to these advanced networking features has a causal impact on the accumulation of SC. To close this research gap, we conducted a randomized field experiment and recruited 215 freelancers on a freemium, work-related SMN. Out of these recruited participants, more than 70 received a randomly assigned, free, 12-month premium membership voucher. We observe that individuals do not necessarily accumulate more SC from the ability to access advanced networking features, as the treated freelancers did not automatically change their digitized networking engagement. Those features will only unfold their full utility if the individuals are motivated to proactively engage in networking: Freelancers who have access to advanced networking features increase their SC by 4.609% for each unit increase on the strategic networking behavior scale. We confirm this finding in another study utilizing a second, individual-level panel data covering 52,392 freelancers; in tandem, we investigate the dynamics that active vs. passive features play in SC accumulation. Based on the findings, we introduce the “theory of purposeful feature utilization”: essentially, individuals must not only possess an efficacious “networking weapon”—they also need the intent to “shoot” it.
... To understand entrepreneurs' networking processes, researchers explore various actions and strategies that entrepreneurs employ (Engel et al., 2017). This behavioral approach yields important insights, particularly related to different networking actions and the network structure that emerges (e.g., Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014). For example, entrepreneurs might adopt a broadening networking style to connect with new others, without using many referrals (Vissa, 2012). ...
... Work on network cognition has emphasized more or less static cognitive attributes of individuals that influence networking, such as the self-monitoring trait (Sasovova, Mehra, Borgatti, & Schippers, 2010), and differences in perceiving the social environment (Ibarra, Kilduff, & Tsai, 2005;Krackhardt, 1987). Other studies focus on individual differences in networking styles (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014;Ebbers, 2014) and how subjective beliefs and feelings influence actual networking (Casciaro, Gino, & Kouchaki, 2014;Kuwabara, Hildebrand, & Zou, 2018). This stream of research has identified stable individual preferences that influence the networking processes, though it has fallen short in explaining the dynamics of individuals' or teams' actions over time (Van de Ven & Engleman, 2004). ...
... Understanding this evaluative capacity of network agency (e.g., Emirbayer & Mische, 1998) is key for advancing entrepreneurial networking theory. The three types of evaluations, relative to initiating networking actions and reacting to responses, provide necessary insights into why and how certain networking actions emerge (Bensaou et al., 2014;Fang et al., 2015;Porter & Woo, 2015). Our results thus emphasize the role of evaluations in networking processes, a theme introduced previously to interfirm network literature, such that they comprise both formal and informal aspects, executed by company managers (e.g., Berends et al., 2011;Doz, 1996;Sydow & Windeler, 1998). ...
We study initial entrepreneurial networking, and describe it as a process of initiating, reacting, and evaluating networking. Our study of student entrepreneurs’ weekly diaries particularly points at the interaction of networking actions and cognitive evaluations. We introduce the concept of network momentum, which refers to the entrepreneur’s perception that the network starts to exist without the immediate effort of the entrepreneur, and we analyze the processes that lead to the establishment of network momentum. Our study contributes to the emergent literature on entrepreneurial networking and the role of cognitive evaluative processes in particular.
... Our attempt in this paper to capture the complex and contested motivations for networking draws on the concept of 'multiplexity' (Ettlinger, 2003;Glückler, 2006Glückler, , 2007Grabher, 2004) to capture the active and complex nature of networking behaviour (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014). Multiplexity refers to the "extent to which social network ties involve different roles, exchanges and/or affiliations. ...
... On the other hand, a number of interviewees would be better described as 'purists' in the terms of Bensaou et al (2014). These spoke at length about their personal distaste at deliberate networking activity, typically because they were uncomfortable with the instrumentality implicit in networking, particularly for career or influence, regarding this as sycophancy or simply inauthentic behaviour. ...
... As is the case in several other professionalised industries(Anderson-Gough et al., 2006;Bensaou et al., 2014), networking is perceived to be an important career skill within the NHS. A significant number of managers interviewed described receiving strong messages about the importance of networking, particularly those who had attended formal management/leadership training programmes.What came through (on the course) was they were saying network, network, network.That's it. ...
Networks are widely cited as vital sources of innovation, learning and knowledge utilisation in the fluid, post-bureaucratic and knowledge-based organisations of today. However, much of the existing literature on networks pays significantly less attention to emergent and informal networks, prioritising research into formal networks for knowledge mobilisation. As a consequence, there is a markedly functionalist bias in much of the research on networks, as networks are ascribed with a self- evident purpose which may be measured and evaluated. Similarly, this focus leads to a neglect of issues of motivation in the extant literature, as membership and participation are taken for granted. This paper seeks to redress this neglect by presenting an examination of the motivations for, and challenges to, both formal and informal networking activities among managers in three English healthcare organisations. Using qualitative data drawn from a three-year funded project exploring the mobilisation of management knowledge among healthcare managers, we explore the diversity of motivations for networking across functional, general, and clinical managers in this field. Moreover, the research demonstrates the practical complementarity of different forms of networking, and provides an insight into the relations that shape, sustain, and limit network participation. In conclusion we discuss the different challenges faced by our diverse management groups in becoming ‘networked professionals’; highlighting the particular challenge of isolation for general managers, and drawing out lessons for policy and practice.
... This yields a twofold contribution. First, we empirically show and further conceptualize how different roles of purists and players discern themselves in their informal client contacts, building on recent work by among others Taminiau et al. (2013), Bensaou et al., (2013), andAwazu (2004). Second, we theorize whether and how professionals can develop their informal client contact skills, given the difficulty to transfer what is considered a 'natural' social ability . ...
... However, many others are less intrinsically adept at social skills, but nonetheless recognize the strategic importance of such activities for their professional development. Thus, players employ directed tactics aimed at strengthening their client relationships, while purists support their client relationships through a predominantly content-driven focus (Bensaou et al., 2013). ...
... in professionals' ability to develop social knowledge, hinted at by Bensaou et al. (2013); we extend this prior work by showing how professionals can indeed learn to develop different roles, through different practices. ...
Developing informal client relationships is an essential social skill for service industry professionals, such as accountants. This skill can be considered a form of 'social knowledge', a key enabler in facilitating communications, and helping professionals distinguish themselves from competitors. In this paper, we study how service professionals in the accounting industry develop their social skills in relating to clients, and how they thereby cope with conflicting demands: on the one hand, market and commercial pressures entice accountants to engage more in informal client relationship development, while on the other, these very relationships are restricted through increasingly strict regulation and professional codes of conduct. We explain how different categories of accountants – purists and players – cope with this tension in their social practices, and how they develop new approaches toward informal client relationships.
... This contribution to theory stems from investigating a new angle of the under-explored origins of entrepreneurial networks (Stuart and Sorenson, 2007) and from theorizing about the highly relevant role of uncertainty in shaping networking processes (Alvarez and Barney, 2007;Burns et al., 2015;McMullen and Shepherd, 2006;Miller, 2007;Slotte-Kock and Coviello, 2010). This is in line with recent conceptualizations of networking as constrained agency (Bensaou et al., 2014;Gulati and Srivastava, 2014) and consistent with calls positioning the influence of cognition on networking behavior as an unusually promising avenue for inquiry (Casciaro et al., 2015;Hallen and Eisenhardt, 2012;Porter and Woo, 2015;Vissa, 2012). We also contribute to entrepreneurship research more broadly by highlighting an interactive and pro-social conception of networking (Shepherd, 2015) that challenges implicit assumptions (Alvesson and Sandberg, 2011) about why and how entrepreneurs create and maintain network ties. ...
... Entrepreneurial networking generally refers to what entrepreneurs do in creating and shaping network ties and may therefore include tie formation and maintenance behaviors as well as any assemblage of such behaviors into unique networking styles, strategies or processes (Bensaou et al., 2014;Porter and Woo, 2015;Vissa, 2012). Emerging as a response to overly structural accounts of entrepreneurs' networks, this view of individual actors as drivers of network change advances the study of social networks as dynamic entities (Emirbayer and Goodwin, 1994;Hoang and Antoncic, 2003;Slotte-Kock and Coviello, 2010;Stuart and Sorenson, 2007). ...
... Rather, networking ensues from an initial reflection on one's means, as entrepreneurs always begin with their own identities, traits, and tastes; the knowledge corridors they are in; and the social networks they are already a part of (Sarasvathy, 2001). In a sense, networking under uncertainty can be seen to reflect a form of "agency on a leash", where entrepreneurs work with the materials at hand, including prior dispositions, histories, and inertia, and yet they are also able of creating new social paths (Bensaou et al., 2014). ...
Although research has started to acknowledge the strategies by which entrepreneurs form and maintain network ties, most efforts to date present an incomplete picture of entrepreneurs as heroic network architects who search, plan, and pursue contact with targeted ties. Herein, we review this nascent literature, argue that it has so far overlooked alternatives in favor of an overly planned and instrumental perspective, and consider the implications of incorporating the notion of uncertainty into investigations of how entrepreneurs engage in networking. We therefore take a novel perspective on entrepreneurial networking and adopt an effectual lens to theorize about how entrepreneurs act when desired ties cannot be identified in advance, networking outcomes cannot be predicted, and ongoing social interactions fuel the emergence of new objectives. Overall, we add important insights to the literature as we flesh out an effectual networking process and discuss how it may stimulate a broader research agenda focused on the inquiry of networking agency under uncertainty.
... First, network dynamics are attracting increasing interest from both qualitative and quantitative researchers alike as evidenced by a 2012 special issue of Organization Science focusing on network dynamics (Ahuja, Soda, & Zaheer, 2012). The emerging work on network dynamics, which has been primarily conducted at the team and organizational levels, has been categorized into three research questions: 1) how does the life cycle of ties (young versus old ties, imprinting ties, or those acquired later) impact performance outcomes, 2) how do tie formation and dissolution influence network change and development, the most common approach to date, and 3) how do entire network structures evolve (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014). Research to date suggests that human agency has a significant role in network genesis and development and as a result that social networks are more flexible and plastic than cross-sectional studies may assume (Ahuja et al., 2012; Bensaou et al., 2014). ...
... The emerging work on network dynamics, which has been primarily conducted at the team and organizational levels, has been categorized into three research questions: 1) how does the life cycle of ties (young versus old ties, imprinting ties, or those acquired later) impact performance outcomes, 2) how do tie formation and dissolution influence network change and development, the most common approach to date, and 3) how do entire network structures evolve (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014). Research to date suggests that human agency has a significant role in network genesis and development and as a result that social networks are more flexible and plastic than cross-sectional studies may assume (Ahuja et al., 2012; Bensaou et al., 2014). In a fascinating longitudinal study combining content analysis of electronic communications with a massive repository of trace data, Wu (2013) concludes social media can induce a change in network structure over time. ...
... Future IS social network studies could learn much from Wu's innovative combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Studies of social capital have also employed interpretivist approaches to address the limitations of agency and endogeneity inherent in quantitative approaches (Bensaou et al., 2014). Agency is the notion that actors purposively enact their social structures, also generally known as agency behavior (Emirbayer and Mische, 1998), by choosing or not choosing to establish connections with certain other actors in their networks, by forming or dissolving network links, or by strengthening or weakening relationships (Ahuja et al., 2012). ...
... This contribution to theory stems from investigating a new angle of the underexplored origins of entrepreneurial networks (Stuart and Sorenson, 2007) and from theorizing about the highly relevant role of uncertainty in shaping networking processes (Alvarez and Barney, 2007;Burns et al., 2015;McMullen and Shepherd, 2006;Miller, 2007;Slotte-Kock and Coviello, 2010). This is in line with recent conceptualizations of networking as constrained agency (Bensaou et al., 2014;Gulati and Srivastava, 2014) and consistent with calls positioning the influence of cognition on networking behavior as an unusually promising avenue for inquiry (Casciaro et al., 2015;Hallen and Eisenhardt, 2012;Porter and Woo, 2015;Vissa, 2012). We also contribute to entrepreneurship research more broadly by highlighting an interactive and pro-social conception of networking (Shepherd, 2015) that challenges implicit assumptions (Alvesson and Sandberg, 2011) about why and how entrepreneurs create and maintain network ties. ...
... Entrepreneurial networking generally refers to what entrepreneurs do in creating and shaping network ties and may therefore include tie formation and maintenance behaviors as well as any assemblage of such behaviors into unique networking styles, strategies or processes (Bensaou et al., 2014;Porter and Woo, 2015;Vissa, 2012). Emerging as a response to overly structural accounts of entrepreneurs' networks, this view of individual actors as drivers of network change advances the study of social networks as dynamic entities (Emirbayer and Goodwin, 1994;Hoang and Antoncic, 2003;Slotte-Kock and Coviello, 2010;Stuart and Sorenson, 2007). ...
... Rather, networking ensues from an initial reflection on one's means, as entrepreneurs always begin with their own identities, traits, and tastes; the knowledge corridors they are in; and the social networks they are already a part of (Sarasvathy, 2001). In a sense, networking under uncertainty can be seen to reflect a form of "agency on a leash", where entrepreneurs work with the materials at hand, including prior dispositions, histories, and inertia, and yet they are also able of creating new social paths (Bensaou et al., 2014). ...
Although research has begun to acknowledge the strategies by which entrepreneurs form and maintain network ties, most efforts to date present an incomplete picture of entrepreneurs as heroic network architects who search, plan, and pursue contact with targeted ties. Herein, we briefly review this nascent literature, argue that it has so far overlooked alternatives in favor of an overly planned and instrumental perspective, and consider the implications of incorporating the notion of uncertainty into investigations of how entrepreneurs engage in networking. We therefore take a novel perspective on entrepreneurial networking and theorize about how entrepreneurs act when desired ties cannot be identified in advance, networking outcomes cannot be predicted, and ongoing social interactions fuel the emergence of new objectives. Overall, we add important insights to the literature, as we flesh out a dynamic networking process that unfolds alongside efforts to create a new venture. We then discuss how this model, which highlights distinctive elements such as altruism, pre-commitment, serendipity, and co-creation, can stimulate a broader research agenda focused on the inquiry of networking agency under uncertainty.
... We argue that networking behaviour is a more general behaviour, which may have serendipitous employability outcomes. However, network capital theory posits that some individuals might be more calculating in their nature and thus behave more strategically when networking, actively working to create social ties and exploiting relationships for greater benefit (Bensaou, Galunic and Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014;Huggins et al., 2012). We suggest that in the university context students can learn the skills of such purposeful networking with staff and peers. ...
... Research shows that people may network strategically (Bensaou et al., 2014;Villar and Albertín, 2010), based on the notion that they want to exploit their social capital and in effect create network capital (Huggins et al., 2012). Therefore, it may be the case that increased JSLGO leads to more overt and strategic networking behaviour. ...
... Thus, we propose that JSLGO can and does drive more focused goal directed behaviour that enhances network capital to provide individuals with career supporting resources. This suggests that students like other individuals may develop relationships strategically as a means to an end (Bensaou et al., 2014;Huggins et al., 2012). Overall, we show that individuals tend to get the best results when there is a combination of both strategic exploitative and general networking behaviour. ...
Purpose
Drawing on the overarching framework of social capital theory this study develops and empirically examines networking behaviour and employability within the higher education context.
Design/methodology/approach
In a sample of 376 full-time business students we measured perceived employability, networking behaviour, access to information and resources and job-search learning goal orientation.
Findings
We found networking is related to increased internal and external perceived employability by boosting access to information and resources. Our results also demonstrate that networking is positively related to access to information and resources for low and high job-search learning goal orientation, the relationship being stronger for those with higher levels.
Research limitations/implications
The results provide an enriched view of individual networking behaviour by offering an indirect model of networking outcomes and to the graduate employability and social capital literatures.
Practical implications
Our findings may provide focus for individuals concerned with enhancing their employability and those involved in supporting career guidance.
Originality/value
Obvious beneficiaries are students, for whom employment is a key concern, and universities who face increasing pressure to enhance graduate employability whilst resources to do so are diminishing. To this end we highlight activities that may develop networking behaviours and job-search learning goal orientation.
... Moreover, Kwon and Adler (2014) suggested that having network ties does not automatically lead to the mobilization of potential network benefits. Similarly, Bensaou et al. (2013) stated that advantages of social networks are not guaranteed by virtue of structure alone but must be seized through the purposeful decisions of network partners. Finally, Kwon et al. (2020) suggested that while network structures offer opportunities for people to interact, acting on such opportunities requires their purposeful initiatives. ...
... However, as these examples show, past research on tertius iungens orientation has generally been limited to case studies and usually focused on its role in involvement in innovation and knowledge flows. Indeed, researchers have long regarded network building behaviors as the "black box" of social networks research and called for more in-depth studies (Bensaou et al., 2013). Hence, we study the mechanisms through which and conditions under which employees' tertius iungens orientation influences their creativity. ...
... Our focus on employees' tertius iungens orientation as well as the factors mediating and moderating its relationship with creativity addresses the need to incorporate employees' purposeful decisions into the social networks research in relation to creativity that has emphasized the importance of studying the employees themselves besides the structural, informational, and relational aspects of social networks (Bensaou et al., 2013;Han et al., 2014;Kwon & Adler, 2014;Kwon et al., 2020). Furthermore, our study extends our current understanding of creativity by answering calls for further research to study the possible mediating and moderating processes that help better explain creative behaviors at work (e.g., Anderson et al., 2014;Hülsheger et al., 2009;Shalley et al., 2004). ...
The important role of social networks in creativity has long been recognized in the literature. However, research to date has primarily focused on the structural, informational, and relational dimensions of social networks in creativity. Acknowledging the importance of employees themselves, past research has also called for further research to study the human side of social networks in addition to their structural, informational, and relational dimensions. Addressing this research need, we studied the indirect relationship between employees’ tertius iungens orientation (i.e., their strategic, purposeful, and effortful behavior to either connect otherwise disconnected coworkers in their organization or facilitate preexisting relationships among them) and their creativity through their interpersonal relationships with their coworkers. In addition, we studied how this indirect relationship is moderated by the expectations of both the focal employees and their coworkers. Based on a multi‐source and multi‐wave survey study in one of the major Internet companies in the world, our results showed that employees with a tertius iungens orientation enjoyed high‐quality interpersonal relationships with their coworkers and in turn exhibited high levels of creativity. The results also indicated that while employees’ job aspirations positively moderated the relationship between their tertius iungens orientation and interpersonal relationships, their organizational status positively moderated the relationship between their interpersonal relationships and creativity. These results expand extant research in the area by showing how and under what conditions employees’ creativity is influenced by their strategic, purposeful, and effortful behaviors to take advantage of the benefits of social networks. Considering firms’ interest and efforts to increase employee creativity, our study also suggests that firms can increase employee creativity by hiring people with a strong tertius iungens orientation and training their existing employees about the value of such an orientation.
... In the interest of advancing our understanding of the person versus situation debate in network studies, we are now witnessing a renewed attention to the integration of psychological and network perspectives in organizational research to appraise how workers' individual differences may influence their tendency to interact with others in the workplace (e.g. Bensaou et al., 2014;Casciaro et al., 2015;Fang et al., 2015;Kleinbaum et al., 2015;Landis, 2016). Given the widespread conviction that social networks offer great opportunities to people but require significant investments of energy and time to be maintained (Day and Kilduff, 2003;Landis, 2016), time-based individual differences seem likely to play a relevant role in shaping the nature of relationships or one's position in workplace social networks. ...
... Finally, by showing how perceptions of situational factors (organizational polychronicity) and time-related individual traits (individual polychronicity) shape instrumental network structures, we discuss the relative importance of personality variables, organizational variables and structural variables. Thus, we contribute to the ongoing debate in network research on the weight of structure versus individual characteristics and cognitions in shaping social networks (see Bensaou et al., 2014;Emirbayer and Goodwin, 1994;Emirbayer and Mische, 1998;Tasselli et al., 2015). ...
... Emirbayer and Goodwin (1994) and Emirbayer and Mische (1998) have criticized this position, arguing that even within the constraints of structure or broader cultural categories, actors can try to structure their social order, according to their values, beliefs, preferences and commitments. Recently, Bensaou et al. (2014) offered a relevant contribution to the debate by studying the level of agency behind different networking strategies adopted by groups of service professionals navigating role transitions. The authors show that the development of such strategies cannot be explained only by prior network structure (network size and density). ...
How do knowledge workers interact with their colleagues when organizations increasingly ask them to work on multiple activities, projects and working spheres simultaneously? Given the importance of social networks for individual and organizational success, in this study we explore the relationship between individual preferences for engaging in multiple tasks simultaneously (individual polychronicity), the perception of the organization’s demands in terms of engaging in multiple tasks simultaneously (organizational polychronicity), and centrality in instrumental networks. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, we collected data from knowledge professionals in a research and development (R&D) unit. Our results show that both individual and organizational polychronicity were related to network centrality. However, the effect of individual polychronicity on instrumental network centrality was stronger, especially for advice-related interactions, suggesting that individual preferences matter more when it comes to knowledge-related interactions. Not only do we link polychronicity to a previously unexplored context, that is, social networks, but we also propose the use of a cultural toolkit perspective to explain how individuals differentially make sense of organizational temporal demands. Finally, we advance research on the antecedents of network centrality and contribute to the ongoing debate on the delicate balance between structure and individual characteristics.
... Our attempt in this paper to capture the complex and contested motivations for networking draws on the concept of 'multiplexity' (Ettlinger, 2003;Glückler, 2006Glückler, , 2007Grabher, 2004) to capture the active and complex nature of networking behaviour (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014). Multiplexity refers to the "extent to which social network ties involve different roles, exchanges and/or affiliations. ...
... A deeper issue over the practice of networking lay in the perceived meaning of networking itself. As is the case in several other professionalised industries (Anderson-Gough et al., 2006;Bensaou et al., 2014) The challenge for such networked managers was often to engage in this activity 'organically' rather than 'instrumentally', avoiding appearance of manipulative or selfserving behaviour, however, the line between 'instrumental' and 'organic' networking is difficult to draw, in part because frequently, 'instrumental' networking is only effective if it is presented as 'organic' networking. The most effective networked managers therefore presented themselves as skilled social performers who could network deliberately and strategically with a focus on a goal while ensuring that this appears both authentic and natural. ...
... On the other hand, a number of interviewees would be better described as 'purists' in the terms of Bensaou et al (2014). These spoke at length about their personal distaste at deliberate networking activity, typically because they were uncomfortable with the instrumentality implicit in networking, particularly for career or influence, regarding this as sycophancy or simply inauthentic behaviour. ...
Networks are widely cited as vital sources of innovation, learning and knowledge utilisation in organisations which aspire to be fluid, post-bureaucratic and knowledge-based. However, much of the existing literature on networks prioritises studies of networks – their structure and form – over the process of networking itself. Often, such research is accompanied by a markedly functionalist bias, as networks are ascribed with an inherent, perhaps explicit, purpose which may be measured and evaluated, typically by the efficiency by which it enables the successful transfer or creation of knowledge. This tendency to take for granted the purpose of a network then draws attention away from issues of motivation and networking behaviour, as network membership and participation may often be taken for granted. This paper seeks to redress this by bringing a practice focus to the activity of networking among three groups of health care managers in three NHS organisations in the UK. Drawing on a qualitative study of management knowledge and networks in healthcare, our objective is to examine the diverse social meanings ascribed to networking for these groups, and, in so doing, drawing out the practical complementarity of 'multiplex' networking, and provides an insight into the relations that shape, sustain, and limit network participation. In conclusion we discuss the different challenges faced by our diverse management groups in becoming 'networked professionals', highlighting the contrasting challenges of isolation and authenticity in the practice of networking.
... Our focus on the heterogeneity of understandings allows us to consider the different forms of personal and social motivations including, but not limited to, instrumental goals. Moreover, our focus on emic perspectives and heterogeneity suggests an inductive and qualitative empirical design, an approach to networks that is still underdeveloped (e.g., Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014;Vissa, 2012) and has been the object of recent calls for increased exploration (Janssen, Van Vuuren, & De Jong, 2016). ...
... Social behaviors may not be purely purposive or conducted to pursue maximal personal benefits (Tasselli, Kilduff, & Menges, 2015). People differ in their attitudes, beliefs, and values, and some reject building or mobilizing relationships for career purposes (Bensaou et al., 2014;Casciaro et al., 2014). In addition, leveraging relationships for resources depends on motivational factors such as goal orientation (Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, & Shin, 2010), whereas relationship initiation can be driven by broader motivations such as a need for connectedness, belonging, or affiliation, regardless of expected instrumental benefits (Janssen et al., 2016;Shea & Fitzsimons, 2016). ...
... Because relational beliefs are, in part, cognitive and affective (Porter & Woo, 2015), actors' evaluations of relationships, and their implications for behavior tend to be biased (Tasselli et al., 2015). As a result, preferences for relationship type and estimates of career-related consequences are shaped by experiences (Janicik & Larrick, 2005) and rooted in personal interpretations (Bensaou et al., 2014). In short, developmental relationships are likely to be more heterogeneous than has been previously acknowledged and are likely to combine complex mixtures of instrumental and noninstrumental motivations, as well as idiosyncratic beliefs and attributions about the purposes of relationships. ...
Developmental networks are important in shaping career success, providing knowledge and feedback, motivation, and opportunities for career seekers. Despite their importance, such networks are often tacit, emergent, and based on subjective assessments of their members; indeed, little is known about how individuals experience their own developmental networks, and understand their role on career development. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative, inductive study to explore how individuals subjectively understand the role of their developmental network, and how these understandings relate to the kinds of relationships they seek. Using 34 in-depth interviews with French consultants, we identify heterogeneous conceptions based on how participants imagined the role of their developmental networks. Three conceptions of developmental networks emerged, based on the instrumental, substantive, and explorative aspects of networks. Based on these conceptions, we discuss how they relate to preferred daily practice in terms of acting on developmental networks, with people attaching value either to the breadth or the depth in their developmental networks.
... Recently, however, scholars have begun to question whether this focus on the positive consequences of networking is too simplistic and have called on researchers to examine the negative outcomes of networking (e.g., Gibson et al., 2014). This emerging area of research has found that networking causes moral discomfort (Casciaro et al., 2014) and that in their decision to network people do take potential costs into account (Bensaou et al., 2013). ...
... The study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it contributes to emerging scholarship seeking to explain why people abstain from networking (e.g., Bensaou et al., 2013;Kuwabara et al., 2018). Costs are one reason and knowledge about those costs provides a more balanced perspective on networking: it allows people to make informed decisions about how to use networking (or refrain from networking), and may allow organizations to implement more effective network-building HR practices (e.g., Collins and Clark, 2003) that take potential costs into account. ...
... Networking is related to, but distinct from social capital (e.g., Adler and Kwon, 2002;Coleman, 1988). It is an individual-level construct focusing on individual agency (Bensaou et al., 2013) whereas research on social capital adopts a social network perspective focusing on structural features such as network size or network brokerage (e.g., Soda et al., 2018). Yet, networking behaviors should result in a social network with resourceful contacts. ...
Purpose
While studies have established that networking is an investment in an individual's career that pays off, recent research has begun to examine the potential costs of networking. This study suggests that prior research is limited in scope, as it remains focused on the work domain. Drawing upon the work home resources model (Ten Brummelhuis and Bakker, 2012), the authors broaden this perspective and develop a framework of negative consequences in nonwork domains. The paper proposes that networking generates costs in nonwork domains, because it requires the investment of finite energy resources in the work domain, and people lack these resources in other domains.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses structural equation modeling of multisource data from N = 306 individuals and their partners to examine how networking affects two distinct nonwork outcomes: work–family conflict and work–life balance.
Findings
Analyses support the general framework: networking is related to time- and strain-based work–family conflict, and work time mediates the relationship between networking and these forms of conflict. Moreover, networking exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with work–life balance, indicating that excessive networking as well as a lack of networking decrease work–life balance.
Originality/value
This study adds to the emergent literature on the negative consequences of networking. The findings suggest that employees and organizations should adopt a broader and more balanced perspective on networking: one that takes the well-known benefits – but also potential costs in work and nonwork domains – into account.
... this necessitates a look at various social sciences that often inform research on the creative industries. style has been theorized as one of the most central concepts in sociology (White, 2008), and its usage is prevalent in disciplines such as anthropology (hegmon, 1992), cultural studies (Muggleton, 2000), and management (Bensaou, galunic, & Jonczyk-sédès, 2013). While the concept of style has been used across disciplines in various ways, and is often used casually as synonym of various other concepts -such as type -in the context of creative industries it can be more productively distinguished from status, fashion, trend, genre, taste, movement, and category. ...
... Management scholars have used the notion of style extensively, although a shared, agreed-upon definition is still lacking. For example, style has been used to describe how professionals or entrepreneurs use networking in their professional careers (Bensaou et al., 2013;vissa, 2012). in this research, style is merely a synonym of type: professionals use networking in various ways and these ways can be organized in a typology. "styles" of networking are "types" or "categories" of networking. ...
Because we lack a usable definition of the concept of style to inform research on the creative industries, this chapter takes a first step toward developing a style-based perspective on them. The use of style in disciplines where the study of creative industries occupies a notable position (sociology, anthropology , cultural studies, and management) is compared and contrasted with a series of related concepts (status, fashion, trend, genre, movement, and category). Style is defined as a durable, recognizable pattern of aesthetic choices. Propositions that relate style to an organization's creative performance are formulated for two types of audience: insiders and outsiders.
... Individuals are active in choosing to pursue some relationships and forgo others and, therefore, active in helping to create the network of relationships that social network researchers focus on (cf. Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014). There is still ongoing debate, however, concerning the extent to which individuals can be considered purposive and instrumental in the construction of the social networks in which they are embedded. ...
... Whether potential social capital is instantiated depends on how individual differences combine with the strategies that people develop for social networking. As recent inductive research on newly promoted service professionals operating within two firms shows, some people thoroughly enjoy the active management of their social networks at work (devoted players), whereas other people see social networking as either a chore to be avoided (purists) or as an activity largely restricted to local contacts (selective players; Bensaou et al., 2014). As people develop different styles of social networking leading to differentiated ego networks, their existing roles, identities, and network positions are likely to shift to accommodate changing sets of relationships. ...
This paper focuses on an emergent debate about the microfoundations of organizational social networks. We consider three theoretical positions: an individual agency perspective suggesting that people, through their individual characteristics and cognitions, shape networks; a network patterning perspective suggesting that networks, through their structural configuration, form people; and a coevolution perspective suggesting that people, in their idiosyncrasies, and networks, in their differentiated structures, coevolve. We conclude that individual attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes cannot be fully understood without considering the structuring of organizational contexts in which people are embedded, and that social network structuring and change in organizations cannot be fully understood without considering the psychology of purposive individuals. To guide future research, we identify key questions from each of the three theoretical perspectives and, particularly, encourage more research on how individual actions and network structure coevolve in a dynamic process of reciprocal influence.
... Such insight is necessary to develop agency-based theories on job search networking and extend theories on career-related networking in general. Current work emphasizes network positions and contact characteristics, rather than specific benefits targeted and gained and what an individual can do proactively (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014, Casciaro et al., 2015. Second, by examining extraversion as a moderator of intervention effectiveness, we address whether the BRIO intervention is differentially useful according to a job seeker's level of extraversion. ...
... Our mediators address psychological, agency-based aspects of networking. Research has understudied individual agency in networking, including the examination of motivational variables that can promote understanding of engagement in relational activities, as well as emotional experiences during networking (Bensaou et al., 2014;Casciaro et al., 2015). Through our examination of intermediate processes involved in networking, we introduce the concept of proximal networking benefits to the job search literature. ...
The authors develop and evaluate an online networking intervention, Building Relationships and Improving Opportunities (BRIO), built in conjunction with the networking literature and social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986, 1999). A field experiment using 491 unemployed job seekers shows that the intervention increases networking intensity, networking self‐efficacy, and proximal networking benefits. Further, the intervention generates higher quality reemployment through its positive effects on networking self‐efficacy. Individuals who completed the intervention and were also lower in extraversion showed the most positive improvements in networking self‐efficacy and reemployment quality. The study advances the literature by uncovering the mechanisms through which a networking intervention may result in improved reemployment success, and demonstrating the moderating role of individual differences in affecting intervention outcomes. The study helps practice by providing a publicly available, research‐based training to improve job search networking. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
... Indeed, while brokerage and brokerage analysis has been primarily preoccupied with the structural underpinnings of network advantages, a complementary view has recently emerged according to which brokerage may be not only a structural characteristic of individuals' positions in the network, but also a set of behaviors through which individuals mobilize the resources accessed through ties and pursue the structural opportunities afforded by their network position (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014;Kellogg, 2014). This paper contributes to this stream of research by considering not only brokerage as a structural property describing individuals' position in the network, but also the strategic orientation toward brokering that allows these individuals to mobilize knowledge and informational resources when occupying a brokerage position. ...
... The idea of looking at "how brokers broker" (Quintane & Carnabuci, 2016) draws on a rich debate that distinguishes between actors' strategies to leverage the persistence of disconnections and informational gaps among unconnected others from strategies that favor enlistment and connection of individuals, seeking knowledge integration and coordination among the unconnected others. While both tendencies might favor a broker in the position of a third party among disconnected others (Bensaou et al., 2014;Kellogg, 2014), in this paper, we develop and test a theory showing the impact of different strategic orientations on the relationship between brokerage and performance. Our explicit focus on individuals' performance contributes to the nascent stream of research on networking behaviors by identifying strategic orientation as one reason why "there is wide variance in the extent to which individuals benefit from bridging structural holes" (Burt, 2012: 587). ...
In this paper, we explore the mechanisms underpinning returns to brokerage positions by considering the role of individuals' strategic orientation toward brokering. We conceptualize individuals' strategic orientations in terms of arbitraging versus collaborating behaviors enacted when occupying a brokerage position. Leveraging a novel data set collected in a global consumer product company, we theorize and find evidence for the fact that arbitraging and collaborating orientations have differential effects on the relationship between brokerage and performance, significantly impacting on individuals' ability to extract value from brokerage. We discuss the implications of these findings for the structural analysis of informal networks in organizations.
... Indeed, while brokerage and brokerage analysis has been primarily preoccupied with the structural underpinnings of network advantages, a complementary view has recently emerged according to which brokerage may be not only a structural characteristic of individuals' positions in the network, but also a set of behaviors through which individuals mobilize the resources accessed through ties and pursue the structural opportunities afforded by their network position (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014;Kellogg, 2014). This paper contributes to this stream of research by considering not only brokerage as a structural property describing individuals' position in the network, but also the strategic orientation toward brokering that allows these individuals to mobilize knowledge and informational resources when occupying a brokerage position. ...
... The idea of looking at "how brokers broker" (Quintane & Carnabuci, 2016) draws on a rich debate that distinguishes between actors' strategies to leverage the persistence of disconnections and informational gaps among unconnected others from strategies that favor enlistment and connection of individuals, seeking knowledge integration and coordination among the unconnected others. While both tendencies might favor a broker in the position of a third party among disconnected others (Bensaou et al., 2014;Kellogg, 2014), in this paper, we develop and test a theory showing the impact of different strategic orientations on the relationship between brokerage and performance. Our explicit focus on individuals' performance contributes to the nascent stream of research on networking behaviors by identifying strategic orientation as one reason why "there is wide variance in the extent to which individuals benefit from bridging structural holes" (Burt, 2012: 587). ...
In this paper we set out to explore the mechanisms underpinning returns to specific network positions, by considering the role of individuals’ behavioral orientation toward brokerage. In particular, we focus on the importance of individuals’ brokerage behaviors in affecting the well-established relationship between individuals’ brokerage positions and performance. Using individuals’ tendency toward acting as Tertius Iungens or tertius gaudens, we show the moderating effects that each of these behavioral tendencies has on the relationship between individuals’ brokerage position and their performance. We theorize and find evidence for the importance of consistency between motives/behaviors and network positions. In particular we observe that while having a tertius gaudens behavioral orientation increases the benefits of occupying a brokerage position, having a Tertius Iungens behavioral orientation decreases it.
... At the same time, researchers have only recently begun to recognize just how ambivalent, uneasy, or conflicted many people feel about instrumental networking (Casciaro et al., 2014;Walter et al., 2015). Even among seasoned professionals (Bensaou et al., 2013) or jobseekers (Wanberg et al., 2000) who recognize the urgency of networking, many people still struggle with the idea of building and using relationships to get ahead as morally questionable: unfair, insincere, even dirty. Others dismiss networking as an onerous exercise at human relations-futile at best, threatening at worst, and rarely gratifying. ...
... Wanberg et al. (2000) show that networking discomfort-feeling uncomfortable about approaching others for favors-reduces networking efforts among job seekers. In a study of two professional service firms, Bensaou et al. (2013) identified three profiles of people with distinct attitudes toward networking. Of the 52 people in their sample, 24 were "selective players" who recognize the importance of effective networks but question whether their own efforts at networking are particularly effective, while 10 were "purists" who consider networking morally dubious. ...
While touting the importance of building effective networks, scholars have paid far less attention to why so many people feel so ambivalent or conflicted about instrumental networking, and what can be done to change such attitudes. The present research provides the first empirical test of a novel theory, which argues that people are more likely to disengage from networking if they hold a "fixed theory" of networking ability-believing that how well one networks is fixed or innate rather than learned through effort-which triggers negative attitudes toward moral and instrumental aspects of networking. To test this argument, we first develop and validate a Lay Theory of Networking Ability scale (Study 1) and show that this scale predicts people's attendance in networking events over a 6-week period (Study 2). Next, we show that lay theories can be experimentally manipulated, with consequences for attendance in networking events over a 4-week period (Study 3) as well as people's affective experiences in networking events (Study 4). In all, the present research contributes to our understanding of the motivational psychology of networking by highlighting the importance of beliefs as an understudied construct in the networks literature and by introducing methods to measure and manipulate them.
... In addition our findings may prove valuable to those who want to motivate people to network, such as supervisors, trainers, or coaches. Often people indicate they abstain from networking because it depletes resources (Bensaou et al., 2013). Though acknowledging the immediate depletion of resources (Wingender and Wolff, 2016), people should be aware that the detrimental effects are rather short lived and, as we show, networking expands its positive effects even into employees' private lives. ...
... Our results show that women deploy less attention to networking styles with regard to their external relations, in contrast to their male counterparts. Indeed, male service professionals often approached informal client contact in a calculated and target-oriented manner, as 'players' of a business game to be won (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2013;Taminiau & Ferguson, 2015). This view ofand approach toinformal client contact is in line with other typically 'male' career-enhancing tactics that have been identified in prior studies (Anderson-Gough et al., 2005;Ibarra, 1992;Singh, Kumra, & Vinnicombe, 2002). ...
... Our results show that women deploy less attention to networking styles with regard to their external relations, in contrast to their male counterparts. Indeed, male service professionals often approached informal client contact in a calculated and target-oriented manner, as 'players' of a business game to be won (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2013;Taminiau & Ferguson, 2015). This view ofand approach toinformal client contact is in line with other typically 'male' career-enhancing tactics that have been identified in prior studies (Anderson-Gough et al., 2005;Ibarra, 1992;Singh, Kumra, & Vinnicombe, 2002). ...
Informal client contact forms a crucial part of the daily routine of service professionals, in particular among top-ranking professionals working for consultancy and accountancy firms. In this paper, we investigate how 34 service professionals develop informal client contact, by studying their networking styles. Our study shows many similarities in informal client contact between two groups of service professionals grouped by gender, but we also found subtle differences in what we coin instrumental and expressive relations. Contrary to gender stereotypes, we found that female service professionals tended toward instrumental networking styles, using professionalism and distance and allowing the high quality of their work compensate for network deficits, contingent upon their clients’ gender. Male service professionals drew on expressive relations to develop emotional bonding with their male clients in particular, but nonetheless toward instrumental purposes. Our study contributes to service industries literature by theoretically and empirically establishing the different informal networking styles between top-ranking service professionals, and the role of emotional bonding in particular. In doing so, the paper helps to better understand the intricacies of informal client contact as a critical dimension of the professional services industry.
... In addition our findings may prove valuable to those who want to motivate people to network, such as supervisors, trainers, or coaches. Often people indicate they abstain from networking because it depletes resources (Bensaou et al., 2013). Though acknowledging the immediate depletion of resources (Wingender and Wolff, 2016), people should be aware that the detrimental effects are rather short lived and, as we show, networking expands its positive effects even into employees' private lives. ...
Although researchers have shown that networking is positively associated with numerous long-term outcomes (e. g., salary, promotion) investigations of proximal outcomes of networking are still scarce. Building on Conservation of Resources theory (COR; Hobfoll, 2001, 2011) and conducting a daily diary study over five consecutive working days (N = 160 academics), we investigated short-term effects of networking on employees' career-related outcomes (i.e., career optimism and career satisfaction), job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction), and well-being (i.e., emotional exhaustion). Further, we suggested that positive affect would act as a mediator. Results from hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) showed that daily networking relates to all four outcome variables. Moreover, positive affect mediated three of four hypothesized relationships, with a marginally significant effect for career satisfaction. By providing evidence for valuable short-term benefits of networking, our study extends existing research on positive long-term effects (for example on salary, promotions). Findings broaden the scope by integrating networking research with a positive organizational behavior perspective. We discuss practical implications with regard to career intervention strategies, study limitations, and prospects for future research.
... Among other constructs in this vein (see, for instance, Anand & Watson, 2004;Schein, 2010;Schüßler & Sydow, 2013), the concept of style has experienced great momentum. Style has been used in research on art (Sgourev, 2013;, fashion (Crane, 1999;Godart, 2015), music (Hamilton, 2003), leadership and production choices (Covin & Slevin, 1988;Elsbach, 2009), identity and relational patterns (Godart & White, 2010;White, 1992), subcultures (Hebdige, 1979;Muggleton, 2000), genres and social categories (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2013;Lena & Peterson, 2008), and strategic decision-making in organizations (Cillo & Verona, 2008;Witkin, 1990), among others. ...
... Social network dynamics are characterized by the existence of opposing forces (Walker et al., 1997). On the one 25 hand, relationships between social actors are stable and reproduced over time; on the other, social actors may have their own strategies for developing connections (Bensaou et al., 2013)-for example, by adding new ties and terminating old ones (Vissa, 2012)-or by influencing how ties are formed among other actors, in particular in their immediate social surrounding (Burt, 1992;Padgett and Ansell, 1993). In this sense, social networking can reduce the stability of a network. ...
Although it is often in the interest of individuals to implement networking strategies that erode their team’s social capital,
it is unclear under what conditions such a social dilemma is more or less likely to occur. We focus on brokerage and closure
as two dimensions of social structure where tension arises between individual networking strategies and team performance.
Adopting a multilevel perspective, and focusing on closed teams with the presence of a clear leader, we analyze two complementary
moderators of this social dilemma that are fundamental to the existence of teams: the task complexity facing the team under
consideration, and the individualist versus collectivist shared value orientation of its members. We find that an increase
in either of these makes the social dilemma more likely to occur. Counterintuitive conclusions pertaining to these moderators
are discussed.
... T s ssu pt s f ct f f st uctu d t s by w c " s c ssu s away differences in the extent to which individual actors form new ties or manage existing s." (Vissa, 2012: 493). Hence, this body of literature fails to understand what actors actually do with their networks (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014). ...
When starting-up, entrepreneurs venture into the unknown as they take decisions on critically uncertain issues such as investment, market analysis, and partnership formation. Does their past – a mosaic juncture of accumulated career experiences – change the ways in which they reason and act? Can it also condition their futures, taking their newly-born ventures on a path towards success or failure? What are some of the mechanisms that may enable entrepreneurs to better deal with uncertainty as it arises on their journey? Given the immense potential of entrepreneurship to create value for individuals, organizations and society, these aspects of the entrepreneurial journey demand investigation and call for more research attention. Hence, the four studies that make up this dissertation examine how entrepreneurs use their careers when engaging in decision-making and action under uncertainty, thus shaping the performance of their ventures. Taken together, these studies make several contributions that speak to current discussions on careers, uncertainty, entrepreneurship, and the relationship between them. Indeed, the findings demonstrate that careers have an impact on venture performance and even more so on the entrepreneurial mechanisms that herald it. The results further reveal important mechanisms linking experience to decision-making and make some conceptual headway in better understanding how uncertainty shapes entrepreneurial action.
... Hence, entrepreneurial networking could be defined as "... what entrepreneurs do in creating and shaping network ties and may, therefore, include tie formation and maintenance behaviors as well as any assemblage of such behaviors into unique networking styles, strategies or processes" (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014;Porter & Woo, 2015;Vissa, 2012). ...
The purpose of this research is to create a Network Marketing Model (NMM) for
entrepreneurs relying on networking activities to activate Word of Mouth processes. In
order to achieve this, we support our theoretical findings in three pillars: Entrepreneurial
Marketing (EM), networking activities, and Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM). These 3
frameworks are explained in Chapters 1 - 2. Additionally, this thesis addresses two relevant
concerns in the area of EM and WOMM: the influence of social networks and the actors in
WOM processes in an entrepreneurial context. These issues are developed through
simulations using Agent-Based Modeling in Chapter 3 and an empirical experiment in
Chapter 4. Finally, Chapter 5 proposes the NMM according to the main findings of previous
sections.
... Social network dynamics are characterized by the existence of opposing forces (Walker et al., 1997). On the one 25 hand, relationships between social actors are stable and reproduced over time; on the other, social actors may have their own strategies for developing connections (Bensaou et al., 2013)-for example, by adding new ties and terminating old ones (Vissa, 2012)-or by influencing how ties are formed among other actors, in particular in their immediate social surrounding (Burt, 1992;Padgett and Ansell, 1993). In this sense, social networking can reduce the stability of a network. ...
Could social actors’ network strategies be at odds with the interests of the broader collective entities to which they belong? We tackle this question through the lens of social dilemmas, and focus on brokerage and closure as two dimensions of social structure in which the tension between individual network strategies and collective outcomes takes place. We analyze two complementary moderators: the task complexity at play in the collective under consideration; and the individualist versus collectivist value orientation of its members.
... Researchers in this stream explore what entrepreneurs do to create and shape network ties (Hallen & Eisenhardt, 2012;Ozcan & Eisenhardt, 2009;Stuart & Sorenson, 2007;Vissa, 2012;Vissa & Bhagavatula, 2012;Zott & Huy, 2007). Entrepreneurial actions and strategies are crucial for creating and discovering opportunities, mobilizing resources, and forming interorganizational partnerships (Bensaou et al., 2014;Engel et al., 2017). Researchers categorize networks according to different characteristics including intra-cluster or extra-cluster networks (Gunawan et al., 2016), existing or new relationships (Laurell et al., 2017), and strong or weak ties (Hallen & Eisenhardt, 2012;Vissa, 2012). ...
Unlike what organizers of venture competitions usually claim, we found no significant correlation between participating in venture competitions and the expansion of entrepreneurial networks for early stage entrepreneurs. We conducted a linear regression analysis with survey data from entrepreneurs in Switzerland. Participating in a venture competition requires a significant amount of time for an entrepreneur as well as resources that the start-up could use elsewhere for other critical activities. This research can help entrepreneurs decide whether or not to participate in a venture competition by specifying their expected outcomes regarding entrepreneurial networks. Organizers of venture competitions need to design programs that are appropriate to the development stages of the entrepreneurs they are targeting.
... Our analysis reveals a variety of different formal and informal practices in each phase of the tendering process that may contribute to convincing potential clients of the value and quality of the professional knowledge and skills of auditors. Thus, our study not only reveals how the auditor's role in the tendering process is formed and structured by different role expectations but, through the concept of role enactment, also shows the elasticity (Bensaou et al., 2013) of this role. By identifying different situated practices, our research suggests that auditors may draw on a much broader variety of ways to deal with the given expectations and show strategic agency in their response to often competing and shifting role expectations. ...
Purpose
Tenders are generally considered important in auditing research and practice, and are associated with significant difficulties for the auditing profession, as well as for individual auditors in the context of client relationships. The purpose of this paper is to explore the way auditors respond to complex client expectations related to the audit tendering process.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a role-theory perspective, the authors analyzed 75 client evaluations of auditors, along with in-depth interviews with high-level auditors.
Findings
The authors present a theoretical framework of audit tenders that identifies different formal and informal practices auditors may employ in response to evolving client expectations that arise throughout different phases of the tendering process, and elucidate relevant conditions that may enable or impede these practices.
Research limitations/implications
First, the study reveals that, in the context of auditor-client relationships, expectations cannot be considered stable, but may vary significantly throughout the tendering process. Second, the study indicates that auditors are not only determined by the formal tendering procedures, but are also influenced by their level of agency.
Practical implications
The framework has practical value by providing individual auditors guidance in managing their client relationships and, further, top management guidance for creating favorable conditions for auditors to meet client needs.
Originality/value
The findings provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the autonomy auditors have in responding to the contemporary pressures exerted on them.
... Entrepreneurial networking generally refers to what entrepreneurs do in creating and shaping network ties and may therefore include tie formation and maintenance behaviours as well as any assemblage of such behaviours into unique networking styles, strategies or processes (Bensaou, Galunic & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014;Porter & Woo, 2015;Vissa & Bhagavatula, 2012). Entrepreneurial networking is likely to be effective when there are ecologies of innovation in the business. ...
This paper examines the mediating role of ecologies of innovation in the relationship between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kampala, Uganda. To empirically validate the conceptual model and test the hypothesised relationships, the authors collected data from a sample of 228 SMEs in Kampala district, Uganda purposefully selected for this study. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were analysed using SPSS/20 and AMOS version 23. The findings exhibit a full mediation of ecologies of innovation in the relationship between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among SMEs. Besides, informational differences and entrepreneurial networking are insignificantly related. There were, however, some limitations: as the study was cross-sectional in nature, it was difficult to trace the process of interactions among employees especially, how they attach meaning to information and entrepreneurial networking patterns over time;—the study was conducted in Kampala district among trade, manufacturing, and services sectors only. The implication is that entrepreneurial networking can only be explained and predicted through ecologies of innovation. The study recommends that SME owners/managers need to fully understand and facilitate ecologies of innovation for employees to interact and attach meaning to information. This research contributes to the literature on mediation of ecologies of innovation between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking through its empirical findings of the hypothesised relationships. It theoretically contributes to existing knowledge by integrating complexity systems leadership theory.
... It is almost as if the individual exercises no control over the relations they build. More recently, research on networking has started to reappraise the role of intentionality in networking by studying how individuals often operate quite strategically in building their social capital (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2013;Hallen & Eisenhardt, 2012;Vissa, 2012). Yet, in as much as tie formation theories underplay agency and intent, studies on networking strategies may underestimate the role of serendipity, environmental factors and social structure. ...
... While generally focused on individuals employed within larger companies, though perhaps building networks that span firm boundaries, this literature also takes an agentic view of network development. For example, Bensaou, Galunic, and Jonczyk-Sédès (2013) draw on interviews with newly-promoted professionals at two professional service firms to identify three distinct configurations of networking actions: devoted players, purists, and selective players. Likewise, in a study of lawyers at a major law firm, Casciaro, Gino, and Kouchaki (2014) find correlational evidence that some entrepreneurs are more likely to feel "dirty" when engaging in instrumental networking, and that such feelings are correlated with less frequent networking and lower job performance. ...
... Our findings are therefore in line with the view that dialectic process theory is particularly applicable in studying multi-level network dynamics (Berends et al., 2011). It also incorporates agency and endogeneity (Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2014), i.e., the influence of prior structures on network strategizing. This is what Jonczyk, Lee, Galunic and Bensaou (2015, p. 956) refer to as 'shadows of the past' or what Gulati and Srivastava (2014, p. 74) refer to as 'constrained agency' to explicate how structural positions simultaneously constrain and enable actions. ...
Although networks have been the epicenter of research in B2B marketing for many years, our understanding of their dynamics remains in its formative stages. In this paper, we explore how the integration of various process theories broadens our perspective of business network dynamics and allows us to study the microfoundations of network change and stability. Our empirical case shows that as we rotate through each process theory, a new combination of network microfoundations appears. We contribute to the business network literature by: 1) providing a nuanced and refined understanding of network microfoundations; and 2) showing how the use of different process lenses alters the mix of microfoundations revealed.
... Networking creates access to social capital (e.g., Higgins & Kram, 2001). However, despite the fact that networking carries many professional benefits, not everyone is equally motivated to engage in professional networking (e.g., Bensaou, Galunic, & Jonczyk-Sédès, 2013;Casciaro, Gino, & Kouchaki, 2014). Among various professional networking activities, seeking to form new relationships may be particularly challenging. ...
... Social network dynamics are characterized by the existence of opposing forces (Walker et al., 1997). On the one hand, relationships between social actors are stable and reproduced over time; on the other, social actors may have their own strategies for developing connections (Bensaou et al., 2013)-for example, by adding new ties and terminating old ones (Vissa, 2012)-or by influencing how ties are formed among other actors, in particular in their immediate social surrounding (Burt, 1992;Padgett and Ansell, 1993). In this sense, social networking can reduce the stability of a network. ...
Although it is often in the interest of individuals to implement networking strategies that erode their team’s social capital, it is unclear under what conditions such a social dilemma is more or less likely to occur. We focus on brokerage and closure as two dimensions of social structure where tension arises between individual networking strategies and team performance. Adopting a multilevel perspective, and focusing on closed teams with the presence of a clear leader, we analyze two complementary moderators of this social dilemma that are fundamental to the existence of teams: the task complexity facing the team under consideration, and the individualist versus collectivist shared value orientation of its members. We find that an increase in either of these makes the social dilemma more likely to occur. Counterintuitive conclusions pertaining to these moderators are discussed.
To create social ties to support their professional or personal goals, people actively engage in instrumental networking. Drawing from moral psychology research, we posit that this intentional behavior has unintended consequences for an individual’s morality. Unlike personal networking in pursuit of emotional support or friendship, and unlike social ties that emerge spontaneously, instrumental networking in pursuit of professional goals can impinge on an individual’s moral purity — a psychological state that results from viewing the self as clean from a moral standpoint — and make an individual feel dirty. We theorize that such feelings of dirtiness decrease the frequency of instrumental networking and, as a result, work performance. We also examine sources of variability in networking-induced feelings of dirtiness by proposing that the amount of power people have when they engage in instrumental networking influences how dirty this networking makes them feel. Three laboratory experiments and a survey study of lawyers in a large North American law firm provide support for our predictions. We call for a new direction in network research that investigates how network-related behaviors associated with building social capital influence individuals’ psychological experiences and work outcomes.
This study looks at what happens to the collection of relationships of service professionals during a role transition (promotion to a management role). Our setting is three professional service firms where we examine changes in relations of recently promoted service professionals (auditors, consultants, and lawyers). We take a comprehensive look at the drivers of two forms of relational change – tie loss and tie gain. Looking backward we examine the qualities of the contact, the relationship, and social structure and identify which forces are at play in losing ties, revealing an overarching tendency for balance between cohesion and efficiency forces. Looking forward, we identify the effect of previous network structures that act as a "shadow of the past" and impact the quality of newly gained relations during the role transitions. Findings demonstrate that role transitions are not only influenced by a few key contacts but that the entire (extant) network of professional relationships shapes the way people reconfigure their workplace relations during a role transition.
Zusammenfassung
Dieser Beitrag der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) berichtet von der Entwicklung, Durchführung und Evaluation eines Networkingtrainings. Networking gilt branchenübergreifend als wichtige Kompetenz für den Aufbau tätigkeitsrelevanter Ressourcen und Fertigkeiten und gewinnt in Zeiten der individualisierten, wissensintensiven und digitalisierten Berufstätigkeit weiter an Bedeutung. Die „Kunst des Netzwerkens“ zu erlernen ist deshalb essentiell. Basierend auf der Handlungsregulationstheorie und sozialkognitiven Ansätzen wird in dieser Evaluationsstudie die Wirksamkeit eines Networking-Trainings ( N = 37) für Berufstätige untersucht. Das Training vermittelt Kompetenzen zu Aufbau, Pflege und Nutzung von Kontakten im beruflichen Kontext. Es wird im Rahmen eines Pretests und drei Posttests bis zu einem Jahr nach dem Training und einer nicht-äquivalenten Kontrollvariablenstrategie auf mehreren Ebenen evaluiert. Es zeigen sich signifikante Verbesserungen in den Bereichen Wissen, networkingbezogene Selbstwirksamkeit und Networkingverhalten, sowie eine Zunahme an Kontakten in beruflichen Online-Netzwerken. Basierend auf den genannten trainingstheoretischen Grundlagen gelingt den Teilnehmenden die Entwicklung ihrer Networkingkompetenzen, d. h. sich ein berufliches Online- und Offline-Netzwerk aufzubauen, dieses zu pflegen und zu nutzen.
Networking success, or the capacity to make new connections and develop relationships, is an increasingly important component of professional performance. Others’ perceptions of one’s networking skills shape success, but little is known about the factors that drive these perceptions. In the present research, we theorize that the ability to establish and maintain flow during conversations uniquely predicts individuals’ networking success above and beyond other factors, such as extraversion, attractiveness, or interestingness. Consistent with this idea, Study 1 showed that individuals’ ability to maintain conversational flow during live, synchronous conversations is positively associated with networking success during a speed-networking event, even after factoring in other potential predictors. In Study 2, participants reported on their existing networks, indicating that strong networkers are better at maintaining conversational flow than weak networkers. In Studies 3a-3b, we manipulated conversational flow and demonstrated that participants attribute stronger networking skills and are more eager to connect with a target who maintains high (versus low) levels of conversational flow.
This study investigates the role of entrepreneurial attitudes for small and medium-sized enterprise managers' tendency to create knowledge acquisition ties with managers of other organizations in the context of an institutionalized high-tech cluster. We examine how innovation orientation, perceived personal control, need for achievement, and self-esteem influence boundary-spanning tie creation as a crucial facet of entrepreneurial behavior in the cluster context. Applying exponential random graph models to survey data collected in a German biotech cluster, we find that innovation orientation and perceived personal control positively affect managers' tendency to rely on interpersonal ties to gather knowledge. In contrast, need for achievement and self-esteem are negatively related to knowledge tie creation.
Purpose:
Networking is essential to leadership effectiveness in the business context. Yet little is known about leadership networking within the academic health science context. If we are going to train academic leaders, we must first understand the relational, network-based activities of their work. The purpose of this study was to explore how academic health science leaders engage in networking activities in the academic health science context.
Method:
A constructivist grounded theory approach guided our study. The authors interviewed 24 academic health science leaders who were enrolled in the New and Evolving Academic Leadership program at the University of Toronto and used social network mapping as an elicitation method. Interviews, which were conducted between September 2014 and June 2015, explored participants' networks and networking activities. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the interviews, with attention paid to identifying key networking activities.
Results:
Academic health science leaders were found to engage in 4 types of networking activities: role bound, project based, goal/vision informed, and opportunity driven. These 4 types were influenced by participants' conception of their role and their perceived leadership work context, which in turn influenced their sense of agency.
Conclusions:
The networking activities identified in this study of academic health science leaders resonate with effective networking activities found in other fields. The findings highlight that these activities can be facilitated by focusing on leaders' perceptions about role and work context. Leadership development should thus attend to these perceptions to encourage effective networking skills.
Networks have been celebrated for some time as vital to the operation of fluid, post-bureaucratic and knowledge-based organisations. However, much of the literature on governing networks prioritises research into formal networks and pays rather less attention to issues of informal and emergent networking. This is often accompanied by a structural-functionalist bias in network research, as networks are ascribed with a self-evident purpose which may be measured and evaluated. The consequence is a neglect of the meaning and practice of networking, as membership, position and participation in networks are taken for granted. We seek to address this gap by exploring, ideographically, the meaning ascribed to informal networking among healthcare managers, and various tensions which result. Using qualitative data from a three-year study of UK healthcare organisations, we explore practices of networking across three defined managerial groups—functional, general and clinical. Our findings highlight the challenges facing attempts to govern such networks.
In contributing a missing qualitative dimension to the emerging relationship-based approach to construction project management, social network theories are used to present a thematic analysis of interviews with senior construction project managers. The results provide new insights into the key stakeholders and social structures which determine construction project outcomes in the design and construct procurement context. They show that from a socio-structural perspective, a design and construct project can be broadly divided into four main stages: project scope/feasibility; tendering/estimating; design development/project planning; construction/handover. Key relational structures linked to project outcomes, both within and between stages, are discussed and the results show that the relationships between actors in different stages are as important as within each stage. Project managers perform an especially critical bridging role in developing a consistent project narrative and language which links project stages together. It is concluded that as lead indicators of project outcomes, the socio-structural concepts of bridging, centrality, structural equivalence and clustering can provide a valuable theoretical and practical foundation to further explore the emergent but as yet under-theorised relationship-based approach to project management.
We studied 459 social servants to determine how their career network building behaviors were related to their social capital, and how this affected their speed of promotion within their organizational hierarchy. Results suggest that greater use of network building behaviors leads to greater range social capital, which leads to faster promotion. Factor analysis suggested two main strategies for network building behaviors: networking within structured groups organized around activities (foci) and informal unstructured networking. Informal unstructured networking behaviors were related to greater range social capital and faster promotion, while structured foci networking behaviors were unrelated.
Which comes first—team social networks or emergent team states (e.g., team climate)? We argue that team members' social network ties and team members' climate perceptions coevolve over time as a function of six reciprocal and co-occurring processes. We test our conceptual framework in a 10-month longitudinal study of perceptions of team psychological safety and social network ties in 69 work teams and find considerable support for our hypotheses. Our main results suggest that perceptions of psychological safety predict network ties. The more psychologically safe team members perceive their team to be, the mòre likely they are to ask their teammates for advice and to see them as friends, and the less likely they are to report difficult relationships with them. At the same time, network ties predict psychological safety. Team members adopt their friends' and advisors' perceptions of the team's psychological safety and reject the perceptions of those with whom they report a difficult relationship. Our framework and findings suggest that conceptual models and tests of unidirectional or team-level effects are likely to substantially misrepresent the mechanisms by which network ties and emergent team states coevolve.
The present article extends a previously published framework for the analysis of knowledge development in professional service firms by looking deeper into the underlying dynamics of the components and processes described in the framework. This extension is based on an in-depth comparative case study of knowledge development in two professional service firms from two very different industries, namely, engineering design and communication consulting. Despite the major differences between the firms and the industries, we found some remarkable similarities in terms of how professionals perceive knowledge development at work, in particular, the emphasis on the role of sophisticated and knowledgeable clients. In this article, we elaborate on this aspect. As a result of these findings, the framework is further refined, as the areas where clients play a major role in the knowledge-development processes of professional service firms are highlighted.
This article tests hypotheses about the effects of social networks on inequitable salary negotiation outcomes using a US high-technology company's salary negotiation data for 1985-1995. The paper finds that members of racial minority groups negotiated significantly lower salary increases than majority members, but this effect was dramatically reduced when social ties to the organization were controlled. Having a social tie to the organization significantly increased salary negotiation outcomes, and minorities were less likely than majority members to have such a social tie.
Using data from the National Opinion Research Center's General SocialSurvey, we compared the organizational membership networks andcore discussion networks of managers and nonmanagers. For the twogroups, the networks differed on a variety of characteristics, includingties to outside organizations and to co-workers, network size, and closeness of ties. We also found preliminary evidence that network differences were associated with income differences for nonmanagers.
We examine the dependence of the performance effects of firms' network positions on the ages of the ties comprising them. Our analysis of Canadian investment banks' underwriting syndicate ties indicates that the performance benefits of closure increase with tie age, while benefits of bridging decrease with tie age. We also find that benefits yielded by hybrid network positions combining elements of both closure and bridging are greatest when old closure ties are combined with either very young or very old bridging ties. Our findings support the idea that the advantages firms gain (or do not) from their network positions depend on the character of the ties (e.g., age) comprising them, highlighting the risk of theorizing structural network effects without also considering the qualities of the ties through which particular structural benefits accrue.
The goal of this interdisciplinary study is to analyze the entrepreneurial personality in the context of resources, environment, and the startup process based on a configurational approach. The study focuses on the startup process. A questionnaire was developed to measure the configuration areas of personality, personal resources, environment, and organizing activities. A representative sample of 1,169 nascent entrepreneurs and new business owner-managers was examined. Three startup configurations were found which reveal different patterns of personality characteristics. These patterns are interpreted in the context of aspects of the environment, the resources, and the startup process.
Engaging in networking behaviors, by attempting to develop and maintain relationships with others who have the potential to provide work or career assistance, is considered to be an important career management strategy. This study explores the relationship between networking behavior and career outcomes (i.e., number of promotions, total compensation, perceived career success) in a sample of managerial and professional employees. Furthermore, we investigate whether networking behavior is as beneficial for women as it is for men. Results indicated that some types of networking behavior were related to both objective and perceived career outcomes. In addition, gender differences do impact the utility of networking behavior as a career-enhancing strategy. Explanations of our results and implications for engaging in networking behavior are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The tendency for relationships to weaken and disappear I discuss as decay, and functions describing the rate of decay over time I discuss as decay functions. Three conclusions are supported with 4 years of network data on a study population of bankers and their colleagues in a financial organization. (1) Factors known from cross-sectional evidence to be associated with strong relationships are associated with slow decay; decay is slower in relations between colleagues with a strong prior relationship (inertia), working in the same corporate division (homophily), prominent in the social hierarchy of bankers (status), or connected indirectly through many third parties (embedding). (2) Regardless of slower decay in certain relations, decay has a pattern over time similar to the population ecology "liability of newness" attributed to selection and learning, with the added complication of networks and people aging simultaneously. Decay is a power function of time in which the probability of decay decreases with tie age (years for which a relationship has existed) and node age (years for which a banker has been in the study population). (3) Embedding stability is responsible for the greater stability of older relationships. The decay-inhibiting effects of age occur where embedding is disrupted but not where embedding is continuous. The third conclusion is interesting in highlighting the first derivative of social structure as a causal variable: embedding has to be measured for its change, rather than level, to see both of its distinct effects on relationship decay.
This article contributes to the social networks literature by examining how corporate governance factors influence CEOs' external advice-seeking behaviors. We incorporate insights from social networks research into an agency theory perspective to predict, and demonstrate empirically, that governance factors recommended by agency theory increase CEOs' tendencies to seek out advice contacts who are likely to offer perspectives on strategic issues that differ from their own; these advice-seeking behaviors ultimately enhance firm performance. Accordingly, this article also contributes to the corporate governance literature by describing how and why CEOs' advice networks mediate the effects of governance factors on firm performance.
This article analyzes how Knowledge Management (KM) is likely to affect competition in the management consulting industry. KM represents a fundamental and qualitative change in this industry's basic production technology. Because management consultants acquire information directly from their customers, for these firms, KM technology exhibits increasing returns to scale. As such, although KM clearly represents an opportunity for some consultants to build a sustainable competitive advantage, it is likely to lead to a shake-out. Based on the industry's early experience with KM systems, this article describes a number of possible future outcomes as well as strategies that consultants can follow.
In this paper we focus on the temporal and historical conditions under which bridging ties from the past affect current organizational outcomes. Whereas previous research has shown that bridging ties have high decay rates and short-term effects, we explore the possibility that bridging ties may produce benefits over an extended period of time. In particular, we contrast the conventional view of bridging ties having rapidly decaying effects with two alternative network dynamics suggesting “accumulating” and “imprinting” effects. We propose that bridging ties have accumulating effects as a result of learning and redeployment of cumulated knowledge. We also predict that bridging ties exhibit an imprinted effect whereby the founding conditions surrounding the formation of some, but not all, ties yield long-lasting network benefits. We test our theory in the context of Nashville's legal industry, studying the formation and evolution of the professional network of lawyers' coemployment ties between 1933 and 1978. Consistent with our theory, we find that bridging ties produce network benefits over an extended period of time and trace back to the point of tie formation. Surprisingly, we also find that the imprinted effect is more robust than the rapidly decaying effect of bridging ties.
In this paper, I examine the effect that the difference in racial heritage between two actors has on the stability of their social tie. I assume that there is a negative association between cross-race relations and relational stability. I examine the extent to which this negative association is rooted in the interpersonal dynamics within the relation itself or in the pressures derived from third party actors associated with the focal actors. I find that race matters. Cross-race relations are more fragile than comparable same-race relations. However, I find that race matters most when a focal alter is a racial isolate in an individual's social network. I conclude that the negative association between cross-race relations and relational stability is rooted in dynamics around the relation with the racial isolate and not within the relation itself.
This study uses social movement concepts to explain the success and failure of actors in a network of relationships trying to influence policies on environmental issues in a small city. Results show that strategies to take action and mobilize others in a network of interorganizational relationships can vary depending on the social context, which consists of the political opportunity structure defined by government regulators, whether the actor faces opposition, and the actor's position in the network. Decisions to engage in strategies to try to influence government regulators directly, to use a broker to reach agreements with the opposition, or to form a coalition with actors in other organizations to influence government decision makers are affected by this social context. Results also show that even peripheral actors, usually assumed to be powerless in network studies, can influence policy if they use a direct-contact strategy and the political opportunity structure is favorable.
This study follows 66 young French men and women over a 6-year period. Various aspects of their transition to adult life (education, jobs, starting to live as a couple, etc.) were monitored during the three waves of survey. A detailed study of the subjects’ networks was performed during each wave. The networks change considerably between one wave and the next. The personal network appears to be the central means by which integration is achieved during each stage of the life cycle. The existence of a core of stable relationships, most frequently centred on the family, also seems to play a fundamental role.
This paper argues that the effect of dense social ties, or network closure, on a knowledge worker's performance depends on the predominant role this worker plays with his or her exchange partners in the relationships affected by that closure. Using data on informal exchanges among investment bankers in the equities division of a large financial services firm operating in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Americas in 2001, we find that network closure in relationships in which the banker acts as an acquirer of information increases his or her performance, whereas closure in relationships in which the banker acts as a provider of information decreases it. We also find that these effects are moderated by the bankers' ability to employ alternative means (such as formal authority) to induce the cooperation of exchange partners in their acquirer role, as well as by the extent to which the bankers can benefit from being free from the control of exchange partners in their provider role. Our findings highlight the two sides of the normative control associated with network closure: control benefits people when they need to induce exchange partners to behave according to their preferences, but it hurts them when it forces them to behave according to the preferences of those partners.
This article describes a field study conducted to test a conceptual model on situational determinants of networking behavior. The findings indicated support for a new measure of internal and external networking behavior. Consistent with our model, external networking was affected by managerial function and level, but internal networking was affected only by managerial level. Dependencies partially mediated the effects of managerial function and level on networking behaviors. The amount of dependency on different types of network members also varied by level and function. However, the reasons given by managers for dependency on key network members were similar for internal and external networks. Rate of advancement for managers was predicted weakly by their internal and external networking.
This paper employs structural role theory to theorize why and how the performance of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) may be associated with an individual's occupation of social network positions. OCB is modelled as behaviour related to the occupation of position-role combinations in the informal structure of organizations. It is proposed that the performance of OCB occurs in conjunction with informal role enactment at a given network position because such performance is characteristic of position occupancy. A given actor may occupy multiple network positions, which profile the actor's links to the informal organization and place him or her in the position to perform OCB. An empirical study of employees in a telecommunications company showed that cohesiveness, centrality and network bridges predict two different types of OCB that characterize a 'good colleague' and a 'good employee' role.
In recent years there has been an increase in the number of women pursuing managerial careers. Previous studies have established that, throughout Europe, women’s advancement to senior domestic management positions has been very slow, despite legislative changes, including the European Union’s social protocol, to enforce issues related to equal opportunity such as equal pay and sex discrimination. The number of women managers pursuing international management careers, however, remains considerably lower than the number in domestic management. Previous research has established that only 3 percent of women are international managers. The data presented in this paper assert that female managers who are not part of an organisational support network experience even further career disadvantages. Based on an extensive empirical research study conducted with senior female international managers, the paper highlights the role which organisational networks have on the career development of female managers.
Our analysis focuses on scientists in corporate research and development (R&D) work units. Building on the rich literature on the importance of brokerage and boundary-spanning for intraorganizational mobility, we investigate how scientists' positions in networks of work relations affect the probability that they expect future mobility. Our results support the claim that, in general, actors with disconnected contacts gain a competitive advantage relative to others who do not enjoy the same degree of access to structural holes. In addition to documenting this basic association between contact density and mobility expectations, we demonstrate that the nature of this association differs considerably depending on the larger context for local patterns of interaction. We investigate three such contextual factors: the degree to which the work unit is oriented toward individual rather than collective incentives; the density of the overall pattern of interaction in the unit; and the extent to which brokerage strategies are legitimate. Findings support the conclusion that the effect of contact density on expectations of promotion is contingent on the character of relevant structures and cultures of opportunity. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.
Tested the moderating effect of dependency on the relationship between networking behavior and managerial career success in 136 managers from a variety of Australian public and private organizations. Ss completed the Networking Scale of the Managerial Practices Survey (G. A. Yukl et al, 1990) which measures salary growth and promotions. Colleague judges rated the extent to which their particular manager's effective performance depended on the persons in the network. Career success was measured by salary growth. The relationship between networking behavior and career success, as measured by both promotion received and salary growth, was moderated by dependency. Career success of high dependency Ss was rated as being more positively affected by networking behavior than that of the less dependent Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper proposes a competency-based view of careers, derived from competency-based models of employer firms. The implications for boundaryless careers are explored by reference to changing organizational, occupational and industry community contexts. All of these contexts are seen as likely to promote boundaryless career behaviors. Future research possibilities for each of three career competencies, and for interdependence among the competencies, are briefly examined.
This study deals with individual managerial performance, both overall and in generating innovation. While prior work has demonstrated a relationship between network structure and managerial performance, inadequate attention has been paid to network content. We consider several micro-social processes that might account for differences in managerial performance, taken from economic sociology and studies of managers' exploitation of their social networks and derived from work in psychology on the genesis of ideas. We compare the influence of these mechanisms on managerial performance using a sample of 106 middle managers in a European telecommunications company. Our findings suggest that, while network structure matters, access to heterogeneous knowledge is of equal importance for overall managerial performance and of greater importance for innovation performance. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The present study examines both positive and negative norms of reciprocity in managerial work relationships by assessing three components of reciprocal behavior: immediacy, equivalence, and interest motive. The findings show that subordinate reports of immediacy, equivalence, and self-interest were negatively associated, and mutual-interest was positively associated, with relationship quality as reported by both subordinates and managers (other-interest was not significant). These components of reciprocity were also subjected to cluster analysis to identify groupings of reciprocity styles. The results indicate styles reflecting high quality (n=65), low quality (n=120), and negative social exchanges (n=23). Analyses addressing reciprocity configurations and work outcomes showed that the higher quality exchange relationships had higher levels of perceived organizational support and altruism (but not commitment) than the lower and negative exchange groups, while only the negative reciprocity group showed lower levels of performance and conscientiousness as rated by the manager.
This multi-method study investigates the effects of entrepreneurs' interpersonal networking style on the initiation of interorganizational exchange ties. I use inductive theorizing to make a distinction between interpersonal networking actions aimed at adding new contacts (network broadening actions) versus managing existing contacts (network deepening actions). I reason that because networking actions alter the cost-benefit calculus of using referrals, the extent to which entrepreneurs rely on referrals when searching for new exchange partners should vary with their networking actions. I then propose that entrepreneurs are likely to add fewer new exchange partners when they rely more on referrals to search. The empirical analysis employs a longitudinal design using data coded from the business cards of new contacts formed over a two-months period by a panel of Indian entrepreneurs operating business-to-business ventures. This study makes a theoretical contribution by identifying decision makers' networking style as a distinct mechanism shaping partner selection for their organization. Specifically, the study shows entrepreneurs using more network deepening actions initiate fewer new economic exchanges, due (in part) to their increased reliance on referral-based search; whereas entrepreneurs using more network broadening actions initiate more new economic exchanges due (in part) to their decreased reliance on referral-based search.
Taxonomies, factor analysis and clustering are discussed as tools to investigate the structure of competitors within an industry (‘strategic groups’). An example using cluster analysis is presented as one means of operationalizing this concept. Careful definition and selection of the dimensions used to identify the boundaries between strategic groups (their mobility barriers) are particularly crucial in the effective application of analytical tools.
The amount of structural embeddedness of a tie between two individuals is defined as the extent of overlap of social relations between those two individuals, and presumably reflects the extent of shared foci of activity that bring these individuals together with the same others. It is suggested that, in comparison with other strengths of ties (e.g. strengths of feelings, and frequencies of interactions), structural embeddedness: (1) is less under individuals' control, and therefore (2) tends to be more stable. Analyses of data on the relationships among male students at one small liberal arts college in November and April of their first year in college support the expectation that structural embeddedness is relatively stable, and tends to have some effect on other strengths of ties as well as the continuity of relationships.
This paper is about three points: network bridges are critical to the advantage known as social capital, bridges relative to other kinds of relationships show faster rates of decay over time, and the faster decay in bridges has implications for the stability of social capital. A bridge connects people not otherwise connected; in other words, it spans a structural hole in the surrounding organization. I have 4 years of data on the social networks of bankers in a large organization. I show that bridge relations are associated with more positive peer reputations and higher compensation, but bridges decay at an alarming rate. Out of 10, 9 bridges this year are gone next year. I describe factors in the rate of decay, find slower decay in the networks of bankers experienced with bridge relationships, and conclude that social capital accrues to those who already have it. An appendix is included on the kinked decay functions observed in contractual bridge relationships.
We use survey network and personality profile data to explore the idea that personality varies systematically with structural holes. We draw two conclusions from the analysis: (1) Personality does vary with structural holes. The association is concentrated in a few items, but those few personality items describe three-fourths of the variance in network constraint. (2) The association is consistent with the structural hole argument. People in the least constrained networks claim the personality of an entrepreneurial outsider (versus conforming and obedient insider), in search of authority (versus security), thriving on advocacy and change (versus stability). We summarize with a network entrepreneur personality index that defines a surprisingly accurate probability of the respondent having an entrepreneurial network. We conclude with cautionary evidence from a survey of corporate staff in a large financial organization. Where the personality index is associated with entrepreneurial networks (lower ranks), neither the index nor the networks are associated with manager performance. Where manager performance is significantly linked with entrepreneurial networks (more senior ranks), the personality index is not associated with network structure, and performance is not higher for managers with more entrepreneurial personalities. The personality data are an interesting correlate, but no substitute for sociometric data.
Using data on 60 intentional communities from the Urban Communes Data Set, we examine factors related to the persistence of ties 12 years later, when nearly all members had left the groups. We find strong evidence of triadic effects—people are more likely to remain in contact with others when they share patterns of contact with third parties. Such triadic effects retain importance even when we use alternative measures of contact, and when we control for individual-, dyadic-, and group-level effects including geographic separation. When we examine friendship as opposed to contact, we find that the triadic effects can be decomposed into some effects pertaining to hierarchy and other effects pertaining to reciprocation, giving us a sense of how networks structure themselves over time.
Utilization of career strategies by 414 employees of a large municipality is investigated using the Career Strategies Inventory. The results of the study indicate greater use of career strategies by managers (versus nonmanagers) and nonplateaued (versus plateaued) employees. Additionally, the following career strategies were related to the rate of salary progression: (1) other enhancement, (2) creating opportunities, (3) extended involvement, and (4) opinion conformity. For managers only, networking and self-nomination were also associated with salary progression. There were few differences between the reported use of the career strategies by males-and females. However, males were more likely to use the strategy of “extended work involvement” and females were more likely to report use of “seeking guidance.”
Organizational commitment has been conceptualized and measured in various ways. The two studies reported here were conducted to test aspects of a three-component model of commitment which integrates these various conceptualizations. The affective component of organizational commitment, proposed by the model, refers to employees' emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in, the organization. The continuance component refers to commitment based on the costs that employees associate with leaving the organization. Finally, the normative component refers to employees' feelings of obligation to remain with the organization. In Study 1, scales were developed to measure these components. Relationships among the components of commitment and with variables considered their antecedents were examined in Study 2. Results of a canonical correlation analysis suggested that, as predicted by the model, the affective and continuance components of organizational commitment are empirically distinguishable constructs with different correlates. The affective and normative components, although distinguishable, appear to be somewhat related. The importance of differentiating the components of commitment, both in research and practice, is discussed. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR Copyright of Journal of Occupational Psychology is the property of British Psychological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts)
Most people acknowledge that networking-creating a fabric of personal contacts to provide support, feedback, insight, and resources--is an essential activity for an ambitious manager. Indeed, it's a requirement even for those focused simply on doing their current jobs well. For some, this is a distasteful reality. Working through networks, they believe,means relying on "who you know" rather than "what you know"--a hypocritical, possibly unethical, way to get things done. But even people who understand that networking is a legitimate and necessary part of their jobs can be discouraged by the payoff--because they are doing it in too limited a fashion. On the basis of a close study of 30 emerging leaders, the authors outline three distinct forms of networking. Operational networking is geared toward doing one's assigned tasks more effectively. It involves cultivating stronger relationships with colleagues whose membership in the network is clear; their roles define them as stakeholders. Personal networking engages kindred spirits from outside an organization in an individual's efforts to learn and find opportunities for personal advancement. Strategic networking puts the tools of networking in the service of business goals. At this level, a manager creates the kind of network that will help uncover and capitalize on new opportunities for the company. The ability to move to this level of networking turns out to be a key test of leadership. Companies often recognize that networks are valuable, andthey create explicit programs to support them. But typically these programs facilitate only operational networking. Likewise, industry associations provide formal contexts for personal networking. The unfortunate effect is to give managers the impression that they know how to network and are doing so sufficiently. A sidebar notes the implication for companies' leadership development initiatives: that teaching strategic networking skills will serve their aspiring leaders and their business goals well.