Let it go or let it grow? - Personal network development and the mobilization of intra-organizational social capital

Abstract

We investigate how differences in personal network development affect the mobilization of social capital for new organizational members. Analyzing three waves of panel data reported by 24 newcomers in nine organizations, we ask whether the kind and volume of resources derived by focal actors depends rather on changes in the composition or in the size of their intra-organizational networks. We find that change in network composition predicts an increase in social capital mobilization over time. Network growth is found to reduce the affective resources that newcomers mobilize. Implications for subsequent research and organizational socialization practices are discussed.