Business Commons^™

Networking Fast And Slow: The Role Of Speed In Tie Formation, Julia Brennecke, Gokhan Ertug, Tom Elfring

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Growing interest in network dynamics has led to insights about patterns of network change, drivers of tie formation, and the temporal unfolding of the consequences of networks. To this area of inquiry, we introduce networking speed – the time it takes for individuals to form a network tie – as an important but so far largely overlooked aspect. We develop a theory of networking speed that explains how different catalysts enable professionals to introduce variation into the speed with which they form interpersonal network ties. We discuss how such variation in the speed with which ties have been formed influences …