Brokerage, power and individual innovation: When do brokers act on their structural advantage?

Prior research has found that brokers, those who stand between two disconnected parties, may access non-redundant information that is conducive to higher innovation. However, research has also shown that occupying brokering network positions does not systematically translate into higher innovation; in other words, brokers do not always exploit such structural opportunity. To better understand the conditions under which brokers innovate, we adopt a contingency approach and theorize that the relationship between brokerage and individual innovation is contingent on individuals’ perception of their power over alters, an important aspect of individuals’ representation of the situation they are in. Using a social network analysis at a consulting and training organization in The Netherlands, we found support for our theory: employees perceiving higher power over alters achieved higher innovation in brokering network positions than employees in these positions who perceived lower power over alters.