When homophilous ties matter: Social network brokerage and individuals’ innovative behavior

Occupying a brokerage network position provides the focal actor with structural opportunities to access non-redundant information and knowledge which may result in an enhanced innovative behavior. However, such a network position entails important challenges associated with knowledge articulation and behavioral constraints, which may hinder focal actors’ innovative outcomes. Drawing on the contingency perspective of social capital theory, in this study, we examine how socio-demographic similarity between a focal actor and his/her direct contacts may affect the relationship between brokerage and innovative behavior. Specifically, we focus on professional background and gender as salient socio-demographic categories that depict the type of knowledge possessed as well as informational, and behavioral differences among people. The results of an empirical study on 134 employees (the response rate was 88%) and 31 supervisors (the response rate was 97%) of an Italian consulting company show that having many homophilous ties, in terms of professional background and gender, strengthens the positive relationship between social network brokerage and individuals’ innovative behavior. These findings furnish important insights for the research on intra-organizational social networks and innovative behavior. At the end of the paper, we discuss its theoretical and practical implications as well as the potential limitations that open avenues for future research in the field.