Rethinking advice seeking networks as catalysts for power in technology firms: They are a correlate, not a cause

Previous research has demonstrated that a person´s central position in a social network is associated with a powerful status. Revisiting the advice network from a technological firm similar findings are done in this paper, but in further analyses it is not found that an asymmetrical advice tie affects dyadic power asymmetry. Taken together, the paper argues that powerful employees are situated in central positions as a function of others´ dependency on them. The data from a longitudinal study is also revisited, and the conclusion from both datasets point in the same direction. Thus, position in advice seeking networks appears to be a correlate, and not a cause, of power, and the paper discusses the findings´ theoretical and practical implications.