When Do I-deals Make One Central? Contextual Effects of Task Interdependence and Power Distance

Abstract

In this study, we integrate idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) research with social network perspective and examine the implications of i-deals for employees’ social networks. Specifically, drawing upon social exchange theory we suggest that i-deals have implications for employees’ centrality in the workgroup advice network and that advice network centrality mediates the relationships between i-deals and job performance. Further, accounting for the workgroup context, we suggest that workgroup structural and social attributes influence the strength of the relationship between i-deals and advice network centrality. Multi-level modeling using time-lag data from 222 employees nested in 40 workgroups showed a positive relationship between i-deals and advice network centrality with advice network centrality mediating the relationship between i-deals and job performance. Moreover, moderation analyses revealed that the workgroup structural attribute of task interdependence and social attribute of leader power distance strengthen the i-deals-advice network centrality relationship. Implications and directions for multi-level and social network research are discussed.