Abstract
Management scholars agree that brokerage typically has a positive effect on entrepreneurial behavior. The advantages of brokerage, however, are not always realized. Building on social network and organizational politics research, we show that the relationship between brokerage and entrepreneurial behavior within firms is contingent upon the broker’s level of political skill. More specifically, we argue that politically skilled employees possess the cognitive, affective and behavioral flexibility that is necessary to overcome the constraints associated with a broker position. Using data on the entrepreneurial behavior, political skill and intra- organizational relationships of 143 employees in an ecommerce company, we show that the positive association between brokerage and entrepreneurial behavior only exist for politically skilled employees. Brokerage has a negative effect on entrepreneurial behavior for politically unskilled employees.
