Before They Were Ties: Predicting the Value of Brand-New Connections. (September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Levin, Daniel Z.; Walter, Jorge
• Is Part Of: Journal of management. Volume 45:Number 7(2019)
• Page Start: 2861
• Page End: 2890
• Publication Date: 2019-09
• Subjects: social networks -- social capital -- new ties -- tie formation -- strangers -- knowledge transfer -- advice seeking; Management -- Periodicals; 658.005
• DOI: 10.1177/0149206318769994
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-2063

Abstract

Complementing and extending prior studies on the value of existing work relationships, this study examines whether we can predict the value of brand-new ties before people ever meet. We examine this question by developing three sets of hypotheses reflecting the three main perspectives in the social networks literature: the resource (actor), dyadic (tie), and structural (network) perspective. To test our hypotheses, we asked executives to reach out for advice from someone they had never met and to complete a survey of their various thoughts about the other person both before and after making a connection. We find support for all three perspectives after a connection has been made; however, before tie formation, we find evidence only for the structural perspective. Our results suggest that the lack of reliable information about strangers obscures which brand-new ties will turn out to be more valuable but that surrounding network structures remain a reliable predictor of value, even for brand-new ties.