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Although researchers have shown that networking is positively associated with numerous long-term outcomes (e. g., salary, promotion) investigations of proximal outcomes of networking are still scarce. Building on Conservation of Resources theory (COR; Hobfoll, 2001, 2011) and conducting a daily diary study over five consecutive working days (N = 160 academics), we investigated short-term effects of networking on employees' career-related outcomes (i.e., career optimism and career satisfaction), job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction), and well-being (i.e., emotional exhaustion). Further, we suggested that positive affect would act as a mediator. Results from hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) showed that daily networking relates to all four outcome variables. Moreover, positive affect mediated three of four hypothesized relationships, with a marginally significant effect for career satisfaction. By providing evidence for valuable short-term benefits of networking, our study extends existing research on positive long-term effects (for example on salary, promotions). Findings broaden the scope by integrating networking research with a positive organizational behavior perspective. We discuss practical implications with regard to career intervention strategies, study limitations, and prospects for future research.

Prior research has so far established the multidimensional nature of networking behavior in Western but not Asian working populations. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to assess the cross-cultural measurement equivalence and predictive validity of an established multidimensional networking scale across a German and a Chinese sample of individuals employed by the same multinational company (total N = 248). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated configural and metric, but not scalar measurement invariance, indicating that cross-cultural comparisons of associations between the six theoretically anticipated networking dimensions and other constructs but not of mean scores of networking are meaningful. Path analytic findings showed that some but not all networking dimensions significantly predicted objective career success (i.e., salary and promotions, assessed 2 months later). Relative weight analyses indicated that all intraorganizational (i.e., building, maintaining, and using contacts), but no extraorganizational networking behaviors explained nontrivial variance in Chinese employees' salary and promotions. In the German group, a largely opposite pattern was found. Interestingly, the relative importance of building and of using internal contacts was significantly greater in China than in Germany. We conclude that the functional but not necessarily the structural facet of a multidimensional conceptualization of networking behavior exhibits meaningful cross-cultural equivalence.

Prior research has so far established the multidimensional nature of networking behavior in Western but not Asian working populations. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to assess the cross-cultural measurement equivalence and predictive validity of an established multidimensional networking scale across a German and a Chinese sample of individuals employed by the same multinational company (total N = 248). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated configural and metric, but not scalar measurement invariance, indicating that cross-cultural comparisons of associations between the six theoretically anticipated networking dimensions and other constructs but not of mean scores of networking are meaningful. Path analytic findings showed that some but not all networking dimensions significantly predicted objective career success (i.e., salary and promotions, assessed 2 months later). Relative weight analyses indicated that all intraorganizational (i.e., building, maintaining, and using contacts), but no extraorganizational networking behaviors explained nontrivial variance in Chinese employees' salary and promotions. In the German group, a largely opposite pattern was found. Interestingly, the relative importance of building and of using internal contacts was significantly greater in China than in Germany. We conclude that the functional but not necessarily the structural facet of a multidimensional conceptualization of networking behavior exhibits meaningful cross-cultural equivalence.

Although researchers have shown that networking is positively associated with numerous long-term outcomes (e. g., salary, promotion) investigations of proximal outcomes of networking are still scarce. Building on Conservation of Resources theory (COR; Hobfoll, 2001, 2011) and conducting a daily diary study over five consecutive working days (N = 160 academics), we investigated short-term effects of networking on employees' career-related outcomes (i.e., career optimism and career satisfaction), job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction), and well-being (i.e., emotional exhaustion). Further, we suggested that positive affect would act as a mediator. Results from hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) showed that daily networking relates to all four outcome variables. Moreover, positive affect mediated three of four hypothesized relationships, with a marginally significant effect for career satisfaction. By providing evidence for valuable short-term benefits of networking, our study extends existing research on positive long-term effects (for example on salary, promotions). Findings broaden the scope by integrating networking research with a positive organizational behavior perspective. We discuss practical implications with regard to career intervention strategies, study limitations, and prospects for future research.

Is your LinkedIn profile up to date? Do you approach potential collaborators at conferences, meetings, or receptions? What about alumni gatherings? Did you remember to hand out your business card at that last event? And what about a follow-up email, just to check that person did not forget that they ran into you? Are you even active on twitter?