Heard It through the Grapevine: Indirect Networks and Employee Creativity
Date
2015
Authors
Hirst, Giles
Knippenberg, Daan van
Zhou, Jing
Quintane, Eric
Zhu, Cherrie
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Blackwell Publishing Inc.
Abstract
Social networks can be important sources of information and insights that may spark employee creativity.
The cross-fertilization of ideas depends not just on access to information and insights through one’s direct
network—the people one actually interacts with—but at least as much on access to the indirect network
one’s direct ties connect one to (i.e., people one does not interact with directly, but with whom one’s
direct ties interact). We propose that the reach efficiency of this indirect network—its nonredundancy in
terms of interconnections—is positively related to individual creativity. To help specify the boundaries
of this positive influence of the indirect network, we also explore how many steps removed the indirect
network still adds to creativity. In addition, we propose that the efficiency (nonredundancy) of one’s
direct network is important here, because more efficient direct networks give one access to indirect
networks with greater reach efficiency. Our hypotheses were supported in a multilevel analysis of
multisource survey data from 223 sales representatives nested within 11 divisions of a Chinese
pharmaceutical company. This analysis also showed that the creative benefits of reach efficiency were
evident for 3 and 4 degrees of separation but were greatest for indirect ties that depend only on one’s
direct ties.
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Applied Psychology
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Journal article
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Restricted until
2037-12-31
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