Social Networks: Effects on Identification, Performance and Satisfaction

Abstract

This study contributes to research on the impact of social networks on organizational outcomes in the context of the increasing number of professionals in the Netherlands. The aim of this study was to get insight into the characteristics of professionals’ social networks and to examine the effect of structural diversity on the relationship between social networks and identification, performance and satisfaction. Our findings indicate that advisory networks of professionals primarily consist of employees in their own organization. Furthermore, results show that homogeneity within social networks positively influences identification. A notable outcome concerns the lack of support for a significant positive relationship between heterogeneous networks on the one hand and performance on the other hand. Another notable outcome concerns the lack of support for the relationship between structural diversity within social networks and job satisfaction. Implications of our study with openings for future research are discussed.