Social networks and the performance of individuals and groups

A field study involving 190 employees in 38 work groups representing five diverse organizations provided evidence that social networks, as defined in terms of both positive and negative relations, are related to both individual and group performance. As hypothesized, individual job performance was positively related to centrality in advice networks and negatively related to centrality in hindrance networks composed of relationships tending to thwart task behaviors. Hindrance network density was significantly and negatively related to group performance.