Dean's Distinguished Speaker Series: Daniel Halgin
As part of the Dean's Distinguished Speaker Series, Saunders College of Business is proud to host Daniel Halgin, Ph.D., associate professor of management for the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky. This event is open to all faculty and graduate students.
Daniel Halgin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Management
The University of Kentucky | Gatton College of Business and Economics
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Topic: Gender, Network Centrality, and the Reputation for Performance: Evidence from India
Abstract: This paper examines three inter-related questions: (1) Are women less likely (than men) to occupy central positions in informal social networks? (2) When women occupy central positions, are they less likely to benefit from them? And (3) Do individual differences in beliefs about the importance of workplace networking help explain why some women benefit more from central positions than other women? We examine these questions using data obtained via a survey of co-located knowledge workers at two Indian companies, a manufacturing firm, and a coal washery. We found that people who were central in the informal communication network were more likely to be perceived as top performers. However, we found no evidence of gender differences in access to central network positions; and, contrary to expectations, we found that the positive relationship between network centrality and the reputation for high performance was stronger for women than it was for men. Further, while men and women did not differ significantly from each other in their beliefs about the importance of networking at work, women who believed in the importance of networking and occupied central positions had the strongest reputation for performance. These results challenge prevailing theory and evidence—culled predominantly from Western samples— and offer new insights into the cultural mechanisms underlying gender-based differences in reputational advantage in the workplace.
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This is an RIT Only Event
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