Career Ladders and the Origins of Brokerage in Intra-organizational Networks

Abstract

While we have ample empirical evidence linking brokerage in intraorganizational social networks to a variety of benefits, we know less about its origins. In this study, I examine the role of individual career history in creating brokerage. I hypothesize that individuals who follow career trajectories that are atypical in the organization will show greater propensity to interact across organizational and social distance than equally mobile individuals whose careers followed more conventional paths. Furthermore, I argue that bridging ties result from two social-capital based mechanisms – links with former co-workers and with “friends of friends” – as well as from human capital. Career history is recorded longitudinally for 30,000 employees in a large information technology firm over seven years; network position is measured using a unique data set of over 150 million electronic mail messages. Empirical results support the hypotheses that diverse – and especially atypical – careers have a causal effect on brokerage through mechanisms rooted in social capital. Surprisingly, social capital explains all the variation in bridging; there appears to be no independent human capital effect.