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This paper investigates the relationship between (1) business cycle and use of personal contacts to obtain job and (2) use of personal contacts to obtain job and wages.

For this, we use data from the Monthly Employment Survey (2002–2015) from Brazil which has detailed information on individual and job characteristics. In addition, we investigate the impact of referrals on wage using quantile regressions.

Time-varying parameter estimates indicate that the relationship between business cycle and use of personal contacts became less countercyclical over time. In general, they show that there is more evidence of a slow changing relationship between personal contacts and the business cycle over time rather than a sudden and discrete one. Using quantile regressions, we observed that, controlling for similar observable characteristics, and including unobserved heterogeneity, wage differences between workers using personal contacts versus workers using others channels disappear. The evidences indicate that workers resort to personal contacts because of valuation of non-pecuniary job characteristics.

The results suggest that, in designing subsidy or affirmative action programs, attention to network effects is important. Social networks can help labor markets run more smoothly by alleviating information frictions.

This study extends the existing literature by providing empirical evidence of the use of personal contacts for the Brazil. Although there are many studies and methods for measuring use of personal contacts, to our knowledge, there are no studies using a time-varying parameters model.

This paper seeks to examine the internal and external social networks in which subsidiary HR and general managers discuss HRM issues, and to explain how their involvement in these networks influences subsidiary HRM capabilities.

The data consist of qualitative interviews with 40 HR and general managers in 23 Nordic MNC subsidiaries in China.

Managers view their networks with other MNCs as being more important for developing their HRM capabilities than contact with peers in local domestic companies. Within the MNC global and regional networks were perceived as being especially useful.

The interviews were conducted in Nordic MNC subsidiaries in Beijing and Shanghai. This could carry implications for the generalisability of the findings. Other limitations of the study are the sampling method and the interview language. MNCs establishing themselves in China should encourage involvement of HR and general managers in internal and external networks. External MNC networks appear to be particularly important sources of HRM knowledge and ideas. Internally more effort should be focused on helping HR managers improve their global networks.

The paper provides an in‐depth description of subsidiary managers' networks, responds to calls made for more research regarding the outcomes of social capital, and addresses the gap in previous research regarding the importance of how things are done in HRM.

Police agency networks are likely to be important for the adoption of policing innovations and the visibility of demonstration projects. This study of police network data has four main goals: to use multivariate models for the influence of agency characteristics on the sort of agency it contacted; to investigate the extent of symmetry of ties in the police network; to examine models for the specific departments chosen as agencies' network contacts; and to identify, through network data, agencies as “relative experts” in several different policing domains.

The paper uses Weiss agency survey data to conduct a variety of analyses of agencies' choices of informal communication partners.

The analysis showed regularities in agencies' choices of contacts. Whether a contact was of the same type or from the same state as the respondent was influenced by the respondent's population and type. There was some evidence of size‐based asymmetry in contacts. The choice of a particular contact was influenced by agency type, population and geographic distance. There appeared to be “relative experts” in specific policing domains.

The results increase understanding of the structure of the agency network. By describing the nature of communication ties on planning issues, the results give essential background for any efforts to encourage the diffusion of policing innovations (or successful practices) by inducing ties between particular agencies. Results can also help predict the potential visibility of demonstration projects if placed in particular agencies.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a comprehensive framework to elucidate the relationship between personality and networking. Using the Five Factor Model as a framework, the paper aims to argue that traits tapping into social (i.e. extraversion, agreeableness) and informational (i.e. openness to experience) features are relevant in explaining how individual dispositions facilitate networking behaviors. Moreover, it aims to delineate structural and functional differences in networking (i.e. building, maintaining, and using contacts within and outside the organization) and to theorize how these differences yield differential relationships of personality traits with networking dimensions.

Online surveys were administered to two samples, from Germany and the UK, respectively (n=351). Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses.

Personality traits reflecting social (extraversion) and informational aspects (openness to experience) are broadly related to networking in general. The paper also finds support for differential relationships, for example, agreeableness is related to internal, but not external networking. Both conscientiousness and emotional stability are not related to networking behaviors.

The findings help explain why some individuals experience more barriers to networking than others and can be used in networking trainings. Practitioners should also note that there is more than extraversion to accurately predict networking skills in selection assessments.

The paper provides further insights into determinants of networking, which is an important career self‐management strategy. It also offers an integrative framework on the personality‐networking relationship as prior research has been fragmentary. Establishing differential relations also furthers understanding on core differences between networking dimensions.

This study examines how deans and associate deans of a group from similar universities use networking. Specifically, we consider whether the deans, traditionally considered to perform boundary‐spanning functions, make more use of external networking than do the associate deans, who are their subordinates. We examine the relationship between accuracy in perceiving a network and influence in the network. Finally, we consider the relationship between reports of networking outside the sample and influence within the sample. We find support for our first two propositions and raise several issues related to our final one.

Technology-based incubators depend on high-level knowledge to constantly meet the demands of the market. Incubators offer a variety of specialized services to help startups increase the chances of crossing the valley of death. These services include infrastructure, access to a professional network of mentors and an intensive support of a consultant team to help with managerial and legal challenges. Therefore, it is critical to incubators to develop both highly skilled teams of consultants and social environment that facilitates communication. The purpose of this paper is to understand how innovation-oriented social networks created within technology-based incubators are shaped.

Data were collected in five incubators participating connected to federal universities from the state of Minas Gerais. The network attributes collected in the survey were placed in a matrix form. The mapping and measurement of the relationships between individuals were developed using the Ucinet software. Ucinet enables the analysis of attributes (attitudes, behaviors and characteristics) characterized as relational (contacts, ties and relationships). The software also includes the Netdraw network visualization tool, which enables the creation of matrices and graphical network maps. The measurements of centrality, closeness and intermediation were analyzed to assess the intra-organizational social network.

The results indicate that although the flow of communication does not follow the formal hierarchy, the interaction between team members to spontaneously exchange ideas, information and experiences is rare. The workers are so concerned about their timely tasks, that they have few opportunities to exchange information and knowledge. The coordination is carried out by university professors, who also perform other tasks (e.g. teaching, research and administration activities) besides those related to the incubators. The results also suggest that in the technology-based incubators studied, besides dealing in an innovative environment, the distribution of tasks and responsibilities are still rigid and traditional.

By analyzing the degree of the relationship between team members, the proximity and the level of intermediation of co-workers, it is possible to see how the incubators workers interact, thereby identifying the flow of information. This study offers implications for theory and practice. To the theory, this study adds to the discussion of intra-organizational social network of technology-based companies in the Brazilian context. To practitioners, this research sheds light on the importance of the social network built within the organization to promote effective communication and knowledge sharing.

In this paper, a social capital perspective is presented to illustrate the interaction between gender and resource mobilization through business owners' networks.

This paper explores the resources provided by key supporters of small and young Spanish business owners within the professional service sector.

The findings suggest that a small group of key individuals provides a diverse range of mainly intangible support to the entrepreneur. Overall, the paper finds only limited support for the idea that male and female networks differ in resource mobilization except for the source of contacts‐referrals and emotional capital. The importance of including emotional capital is evident in the fact that men and women seek it in large numbers, although few studies consider it within the resources provided by the entrepreneurial networks, since it is normally attributed to women and the private sphere.

It seems that women business owners, through their embeddedness in networks, can build a bridge between their agency and the structure which normally implies some constraints for them due to the gender‐belief system. Establishing a mentorship program can prove very useful, since business owners prioritize obtaining intangible resources from their key supporters: ideas‐advice, emotional support, and contacts‐referrals.

Despite the research attention on social capital in recent years, prior work has tended to focus on how actors connect (structural dimension); however, there is a dearth of research about the resources actors can potentially gain access to by examining with whom they connect. Moreover, few studies have recognized the impact of gender on networking experiences.

Although social networks are considered influential to employment outcomes, little is known about the behavioural manifestation of networking during job search. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of networking amongst 16–24 year old active jobseekers living in Scotland.

A sequential, mixed methods approach was applied to gather data, including interviews (no. of participants=7), a focus group (no. of participants=6) and a survey questionnaire (no. of participants=558). The study design was underpinned by a prominent model from the field of Information Science. As such, job search networking has been treated as an information behaviour.

The findings show that young people acquire different types of information from network contacts throughout job search, and that frequent networking is associated with positive outcomes. This is especially true of engaging with family members, acquaintances and employers. However, barriers such as a lack of confidence or awareness mean that few young people make the most of their social contacts when seeking work.

Careers professionals can use this knowledge to advise clients on maximising the potential of social networks as sources of job search information.

A key contribution of this work is that it provides a detailed insight into a topic that has been neglected in previous studies: that of the process of job search networking as an information behaviour.

Innovation, particularly in a dynamic environment, is crucial to a firm’s competitiveness. We test the hypothesis that managers’ performance, particularly their innovativeness, is related to the diversity of knowledge to which they are exposed in their interactions with colleagues. In a study of 106 managers in a high technology company, we find their performance benefits from increasing diversity of knowledge among their contacts. However, the effect of knowledge heterogeneity depends on the presence of sparse local networks. The joint influence of heterogeneity and sparse network structure is stronger for managerial innovation than for a more general measure of managerial performance. This suggests that the link between knowledge heterogeneity and performance relies on a process of knowledge synthesis involved in the generation of new ideas, with sparse networks affording managers the local autonomy needed for their development and implementation.

Despite recognition of the value of networking, there has been little research into the networks of female entrepreneurial practitioners, particularly in the science, engineering and technology (SET) sectors, viewed traditionally as male‐dominated. This paper aims to provide greater insights into the dynamics and quality of female entrepreneurial networks.

Insights were derived through a qualitative, in‐depth, interview‐based study of 18 female entrepreneurs operating SET‐based ventures in Northern Ireland. The use of Nvivo as the data analysis tool imposed a discipline and structure which facilitated the extraction of core insights.

Aspects investigated include network type and composition; nature and frequency of engagement; and changes in network composition and networking activities through the business lifecycle. The results focus on implications of the findings for issues of quality in networks and their impact on the value of female networks.

An understanding of these issues offers opportunities to shape government interventions to assist female entrepreneurs embarking on a venturing pathway in SET‐based ventures, or those already operating in business, to be more effective in building, utilising and enhancing the quality of their networking activities.

In exploring networking and issues of quality for female entrepreneurs operating in SET‐based sectors, traditionally viewed as male‐dominated, the paper considers an under‐researched area of the female entrepreneurship literature.