Abstract

This study investigates the impact of network characteristics--size and density--on managerial effectiveness as evaluated by 360-degree performance feedback appraisal. It further examines the mediating impact of network types such as information, advice, friendship, career support and cooperation as well as the impact on the relationships between ties of variables such as rank, frequency of interaction and intimacy. Data was collected from 254 middle-level managers in various organizations in the United States. Surveys were distributed to managers in order to identify the ties within their network, to gather demographic data on each of the ties mentioned and to determine the true nature of these relationships. Several hypotheses were then tested using regression analyses. Although this study contributes to a general understanding of some of the important issues with respect to the effect of networks on managerial effectiveness, a link was not established between managerial effectiveness and the number of ties within a network, the density of a network, or the dimensions or the structural characteristics of a network. The implications of these results are discussed.