Market orientation and innovation behaviour: how do service employees benefit from their uniplex and multiplex intrafirm network centrality?

Abstract

Intrafirm networks enable service employees to transform market orientation behaviours into innovation behaviours. Few studies, however, have investigated how network centrality in intrafirm networks can moderate this relationship. This paper investigates how service employees can leverage their intrafirm network popularity in three types of social networks: advice, friendship, and multiplex networks. The findings of a multi-source, multilevel study among 1175 service employees embedded in 60 firms demonstrate the important role of multiplex-network centrality. Employees who have a central position in multiplex networks (with overlapping friendship and advice ties) can tap into the complementarity of the assets rooted in friendship and advice networks, allowing them to more effectively convert market orientation into innovation behaviours. Our study demonstrates the importance of investigating multiplex relationships next to uniplex relationships in order to better understand the relative effects of different network types. Direct implications are given to encourage employees’ MO and innovation efforts.