The moderating influence of personality on individual outcomes of social networks

Advantageous structural positions in a social network provide opportunities for employees. In this study, we examined whether the interaction between the personality traits neuroticism and extraversion affects the extent to which employees benefit from network centrality. Data from a sample of 299 nurses from four Dutch hospitals revealed that affect-based network centrality was associated with higher job satisfaction and that in-degree advice network centrality was associated with higher ratings by supervisors with respect to job performance, but only for extraverts low in neuroticism and introverts high in neuroticism. The results show that the existence and magnitude of the positive relationship between affect-based network centrality and job satisfaction, and the positive relationship between advice network centrality and supervisor ratings of job performance, may crucially depend on the specific interactional combination of personality traits. These findings provide an explanation for the variation in results regarding the network centrality-job satisfaction link and extend empirical evidence for the network centrality-job performance link. The current findings offer team managers insight into how a combination of personality traits influences the effect of network centrality on individual work outcomes. Implications for social networks and selection of employees are discussed.