Networking by professionals to manage change: dentists' cooperation and competition to develop their business

Professionals, although most have little formal background in management, confront many business challenges. A network of professionals, financial bankers, suppliers and others can provide them with ideas, suggestions, and advice to adapt their practices. Fifty-two self-employed dentists were interviewed to test the usefulness of the theory of cooperation and competition to analyze professional networking. These dentists were able to network effectively to solve business problems when they developed cooperative goals and discussed their views open-mindedly. The path coefficients of the structural equation analysis supported the theorizing that open-minded discussion mediates the relationship between goal interdependence and outcomes. It indicated that competitive goals very much interfered with the other's willingness to discuss issues openly and constructively; the other's and own open-minded discussion were critical for productive networking. Shared purpose, interconnected roles, and sympathy were major antecedents for cooperative goals. Results suggest the value of professionals building cooperative goals, reducing competitive ones, and developing the interpersonal competence to discuss issues open-mindedly with people in their network. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.