Professional Network Structure and Relationship Quality Effects on Member Knowledge Acquisition, Well-Being, and Performance

This study contributes to theory and empirical findings on the impact of professional network structure on the creation of membership values by observing the direct effects of (1) Professional Association network structure properties (network strength, network openness, and network hierarchy) on member knowledge acquisition and well-being which in turn leads to performance, and (2) whether or not relationship quality mediates the preceding relationship. Data were collected via questionnaire from Professional Associations in Taiwan, resulting in 207 usable surveys. Partial Least Square technique was employed to test the structural model and hypotheses. Results show that relationship quality mediates the impacts of all three network structure properties on members´ knowledge acquisition and well-being, which in turn lead to positive members´ professional performance. Meanwhile, network strength and network openness have direct positive effects on members´ knowledge acquisition and well-being.