The apparent stability of social network structures may mask considerable change and adjustment in the ties that make up the structures. In this study, we theorize and test-using longitudinal data on friendship relations from a radiology department located in the Netherlands-the idea that the characteristics of this "network churn" and the resultant brokerage dynamics are traceable to individual differences in self-monitoring personality. High self-monitors were more likely than low self-monitors to attract new friends and to occupy new bridging positions over time. In comparison to low self-monitors, the new friends that high self-monitors attracted tended to be relative strangers, in the sense that they were unconnected with previous friends, came from different functions, and more effi ciently increased the number of structural holes in the resultant network. Our study suggests that dispositional forces help shape the dynamic structuring of networks: individuals help (re)create the social network structures they inhabit.• Organizations are, among other things, social arenas in which people form, change, and dissolve relationships with their colleagues. We know that the structure of these relationships considered at a given point in time matters. In particular, there is considerable evidence that individuals who occupy brokerage positions bridging the "structural holes" between disconnected others in the workplace receive higher performance evaluations and faster promotions (e.g

Purpose -Many important constructs of business and social sciences are conceptualized as composites of common factors, i.e. as second-order constructs composed of reflectively measured first-order constructs. Current approaches to model this type of second-order construct provide inconsistent estimates and lack a model test that helps assess the existence and/or usefulness of a second-order construct. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel three-stage approach to model, estimate, and test second-order constructs composed of reflectively measured first-order constructs. Design/methodology/approach -The authors compare the efficacy of the proposed three-stage approach with that of the dominant extant approaches, i.e. the repeated indicator approach, the two-stage approach, and the hybrid approach by means of simulated data whose underlying population model is known. Moreover, the authors apply the three-stage approach to a real research setting in business research. Findings -The study based on simulated data illustrates that the three-stage approach is Fisher-consistent, whereas the dominant extant approaches are not. The study based on real data shows that the three-stage approach is meaningfully applicable in typical research settings of business research. Its results can differ substantially from those of the extant approaches. Research limitations/implications -Analysts aiming at modeling composites of common factors should apply the proposed procedure in order to test the existence and/or usefulness of a second-order construct and to obtain consistent estimates.

No abstract

Pre-development activities, such as new product idea screening, are considered to play an important role in innovation success. At the screening stage, a management team evaluates new product and service ideas and makes a first go/no-go decision under high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity. Paying more attention to the decision-making process in the screening stage appears important because too rigorous a use of rigid evaluation criteria and inflexible methods have been shown to have an adverse effect on market performance of novel products. The present study proposes and tests a model of team-level antecedents and consequences of reflexivity-the explicit evaluation and discussion of working methods, tools, and criteria within a team. Recently, researchers have proposed that cognitive style and leadership style are major antecedents of decision-making performance. This study posits that reflexivity offers an explanation of how transformational leadership and cognitive style can eventually affect decision-making performance in the context of new product idea screening. Results of a survey among 126 top managers from large international firms show that the positive effects of transformational leadership and procedural rationality on the effectiveness and efficiency of screening decision making are largely mediated by reflexivity at the team level. This suggests that screening teams can improve their decision making in the following ways: committee chairs are advised to stimulate openness, develop a stop-and-think attitude among screening committee members, and support argument-based discussion in order to adapt available decision tools, models, and checklists whenever needed. The paper concludes with implications, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research.

In screening decisions, senior managers from various disciplines need to collaborate to evaluate innovation project proposals and decide about the allocation of scarce resources to selected projects. Screening decisions are complex and made under high levels of uncertainty, and are considered to be one of senior management's most challenging tasks. In the present field study, screening decision making is investigated from the perspective of a Transactive Memory System (TMS). TMS theory explains how cross‐disciplinary groups of people in interdependent relationships gain, store, combine, and utilize their knowledge in solving complex problems. According to this theory, a TMS emerges to the extent that team members manage to synchronize three core socio‐cognitive processes—specialization, building credibility, and coordination—to achieve team objectives. A theoretical model summarizing antecedents and consequences of the emergence of a TMS in a screening context is proposed and investigated using structural equation modeling. Data from 136 screening committees were used. Results show that the degree to which a committee acts as a TMS is positively related to decision‐making effectiveness as well as efficiency in a screening context. Transformational leadership and an open organizational climate are shown to act as antecedents of TMS emergence. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.