Dissonant Ties in Intraorganizational Networks: Why Individuals Seek Problem-Solving Assistance from Difficult Colleagues
研究员工为何向难以相处的同事寻求帮助，提出“不和谐关系”概念，发现这种关系能提升绩效，且受组织层级、任期和部门影响。
This paper investigates employees seeking problem-solving assistance from colleagues with whom they find it difficult to work. In so doing, the paper introduces the construct of “dissonant ties”: network ties to colleagues that are simultaneously positive and negative. The study builds on the assumption that individuals in knowledge-intensive workplaces employ dissonant ties to access distinct work-related benefits, and establishes a link between dissonant ties and performance. Subsequently, it provides an in-depth analysis of employees’ willingness to rely on this potentially unpleasant but instrumental networking behavior, and suggests that formal hierarchical rank, tenure, and unit membership, as critical elements of the organizational architecture, drive dissonant tie formation. In the empirical analysis, the study utilizes survey and interview data collected from engineers in a large manufacturing firm. The findings confirm that seeking problem-solving assistance from difficult colleagues entails performance benefits. Moreover, the embeddedness of individuals in the organizational architecture shapes the employment of dissonant ties. Dissonant ties are, hence, context driven. By simultaneously addressing the consequences and the drivers of employees’ networking behavior, the study presents a comprehensive theory of dissonant ties that challenges and refines previous research on the interplay between positive and negative networks.