Brokering in hierarchies versus networks: How organizational structure shapes social relations

Individuals often engage in brokering behaviors intended to influence other people's interactions and relationships. An open research question in the nascent literature on brokering as a social process concerns its situational antecedents. We introduce and test the novel hypothesis that employe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of experimental social psychology Vol. 109; p. 104515
Main Authors:	Moyal, Adiel, Tan, Josephine Chow Ying, Halevy, Nir
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier Inc 01-11-2023
Subjects:	Brokering Construal Hierarchy Networks Social influence Brokering Social influence Hierarchy Networks Construal
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Individuals often engage in brokering behaviors intended to influence other people's interactions and relationships. An open research question in the nascent literature on brokering as a social process concerns its situational antecedents. We introduce and test the novel hypothesis that employees' construal of the structure of work organizations as a hierarchy versus a network shapes the extent to which they judge different brokering behaviors as normative and useful for getting ahead at work. Converging evidence from three studies suggests that, relative to network construals, hierarchy construals inhibit intermediary and conciliatory brokering and facilitate divisive brokering. Our theory and findings identify a previously overlooked antecedent of brokering behavior and underscore the usefulness of social structure construals for explaining social relations in organizations. •Brokering is a ubiquitous social influence process in groups and organizations.•We identify a previously overlooked, situational antecedent of brokering behaviors.•Seeing organizations as networks (vs. hierarchies) fuels intermediary brokering.•Seeing organizations as networks (vs. hierarchies) fuels conciliatory brokering.•Seeing organizations as hierarchies (vs. networks) fuels divisive brokering.
ISSN:	0022-1031 1096-0465
DOI:	10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104515