Hiding and Seeking Knowledge-Providing Ties from Rivals: A Strategic Perspective on Network Perceptions

Rivalry is endemic in society and organizations, fueling competitive intentions and behaviors. According to social network theory, rivalry emerges among people who, like siblings, have many of the same connections to others. For this structurally equivalent rivalry to have its effects, the individual must see the other person as a rival. We ask whether, in the context of competition, people seek to identify the knowledge providers of their rivals while striving to hide their own knowledge providers from perceived rivals. We conducted two experiments that showed, for the first time, that structural equivalence does induce feelings of rivalry and does lead people to take action with respect to perceived rivals, namely to hide and seek knowledge providers. Our analysis of time-separated social network and outcome data from all 73 employees in the headquarters of a chemical company found support for these patterns of hiding and seeking in relation to perceived rivals. We also found limited evidence that career outcomes may be influenced by individuals’ success in hiding and seeking. Bringing together research on rivalry and network cognition, we provide a new approach to the strategic deployment of deception and detection in social networks.