Two types of network brokerage: How sense of power, seniority and gender matter

Studies demonstrate the importance of brokerage positions in organizations for motivation, promotions and career success. However, we still lack a thorough understanding of how psychological factors like an individual’s sense of power can explain specific differences in brokerage activities and outcomes. In this paper, we seek to explain that the way an individual construes and interprets their sense of power impacts the way that they broker, using either a tertius iungens orientation, such as bringing individuals together, or a tertius gaudens orientation, such as keeping individuals apart.
Applying a processual view of brokerage, we show how these two central strategic orientations towards brokerage depend on an individual’s perception of their ability to influence others. We find that actors with a low sense of power more often engage in tertius iungens brokerage while those with a high sense of power more often engage in tertius gaudens brokerage. Findings further demonstrate that gender and the level of seniority also shape the way that brokerage is enacted, with women more often engaging in tertius iungens brokerage, and senior employees more often referring to tertius gaudens brokerage.

, 2021