Dissertation

The effects of instrumental, friendship, and multiplex network ties on job performance: A model of coworker relationships

Methot, Jessica R

2010

Overview

In this dissertation, I take a social network perspective to investigate several explanatory pathways through which workplace relationships impact individual job performance. Workplace relationships, including both formal coworker relationships and informal friendships, are integral in understanding employee behavior1 because they have been linked to access to resources such as information, advice, and emotional support2. Social network researchers also recognize the potential for multiplexity, or the coexistence of multiple elements in a social relationship. For example, it is possible for someone to be both a coworker and a friend3. Although this type of overlap is common in organizational contexts 4, practically no research to date has examined the effects of these complex relations on job performance. To address this limitation, I propose and test a model predicting that multiplexity impacts job performance through two offsetting pathways: (a) resource accumulation, whereby the security, intimacy, and trust inherent in these relations increases a person’s resources, eliciting a positive association with job performance and, (b) resource depletion, whereby the increased time and attention dedicated to these relations detracts from a person’s available resources, eliciting a negative association with job performance. To test this model, data was collected from 182 employees of nine independent companies in the southeast United States. Overall, findings suggest that multiplex relationships that comprise both instrumentality and friendship are largely functional for work performance by providing a broader range of support resources, but also have significant trade-offs in the form of curtailing employees’ ability to focus on their work. 1 Mitchell, J. C. (1969). The concept and use of social networks. In J. C. Mitchell (Ed.), Social networks in urban situations (pp. 1–50). Manchester: University of Manchester Press.; Wellman, B. (1988). Structural analysis: From method and metaphor to theory and substance. In B. Wellman & S. D. Berkowitz (Eds)., Social structures: A network approach (pp. 19–61). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2 Kram, K. E., & Isabella, L. A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of Management Journal, 28, 110–132.; Rawlins, W. K. (1992). Friendship matters: Communication, dialectics, and the life course. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine.; Sias, P. M. (2005). Workplace relationship quality and employee information experiences. Communication Studies, 56, 375–395.; Sias, P. M., & Cahill, D. J. (1998). From coworkers to friends: The development of peer friendships in the workplace. Western Journal of Communication, 62, 273–299.; Winstead, B. A., Derlega, V. J., Montgomery, M. J., & Pilkington, C. (1995). The quality of friendships at work and job satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 12, 199–215. 3 Gluckman, M. (1962). Les rites de passage. In D. Forde, M. Fortes, M. Gluckman, & V. W. Turner (Eds.), Essays on the ritual of social relations. Manchester: Manchester University Press.; Verbrugge, L. M. (1979). Multiplexity in adult friendships. Social Forces, 58, 1286–1309. 4 Fischer, C. S. (1982). What do we mean by ‘friend’” An inductive study. Social Network, 3, 287–306.; Gersick, C. J. G., Bartunek, J. M., & Dutton, J. E. (2000). Learning from academia: The importance of relationships in professional life. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 1026–1044.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Access to information / Employees / Friendship / Impact analysis / Intimacy / Management / Performance appraisal / Professional relationships / Social networks / Social support / Studies
• ISBN: 1267514175, 9781267514172