Page - (000231) - in Knowledge and Networks

226 years later, when this study was conducted, the company had grown from 1 to 116 employees. The firm used a relatively flat organizational structure (only three for- mal hierarchical levels) to help it compete in a fast-paced industry dominated by large, well-funded rivals, such as Hewlett-Packard. Of the 116 employees, 95 were in non-supervisory positions. The company was housed in a building purposefully designed to promote informal interactions among all employees. At the heart of the building was a large sunlit atrium, complete with large tropical plants, a waterfall, and a campus-style cafeteria. The firm had won prestigious awards for its entrepre- neurial culture, environmentally friendly products, and success in recruiting, train- ing, and promoting women. Data We collected data on leadership perceptions, self-monitoring, and the trust network using a questionnaire sent to all 116 employees (68 men and 48 women). 102 people responded to the questionnaire, an overall response rate of 88 %. Missing data reduced the sample size to 91. Respondents were not significantly different from non-respondents with regard to tenure or sex. Measures Trust Network To learn about the network of interpersonal trust relations we used the roster method: we asked respondents to look at a list of employees’ names and place a check next to the names of “… those [people] whom you especially trust.” We defined trusted individuals as “people with whom you would feel comfortable sharing personal or otherwise confidential information; people who you feel confi- dent would not use the information to take advantage of you.” The definition of trust was based on Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt and Camerer (1998), who examined how trust has been conceptualized and measured across a range of social science disciplines. Their review concluded that trust is “a psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behav- ior of another” (p. 395). This is also the definition used by Dirks and Ferrin (2002, p. 612) in their meta-analytic study of trust in leadership; and it is consistent with the approach to measuring the trust network adopted by Sparrowe and Liden (2005, p. 517). The sociometric data on trust relations were arranged in a 102 × 102 matrix containing 10,302 observations on all possible pairs of people. Advice Network We also used the roster method to learn about advice relations. We asked employees to look down a list of names of all employees and place a check next to the names of “… the people from whom you seek advice about work- related matters. These are the people you turn to when you have a work-related problem or when you need advice about a work-related decision you have to make.” This definition of advice relations is based on earlier network studies of advice rela- tions in the workplace (e.g., Ibarra, 1992; Sparrowe & Liden, 2005). The sociomet- ric data on advice relations were arranged in a 102 × 102 matrix containing advice relations among all possible pairs of people. M. Kilduff et al.