Micro mechanism of social relationships affecting team performance: a social incentive framework

Abstract

Abstract: Social relationships such as blood ties and academic connections that come before an organization are generally considered to have a positive impact on organizational/team performance in the form of social capital. However, there is little attention paid to how social relationships affect individual behavior and further shape team performance after entering an organization/team. This study analyzes the micro mechanism by which social relationships affect team performance. It examines the impact of social relationships on individual behavioral choices, effort levels, and cooperation orientation through social comparison. Furthermore, it examines the shaping effect of task decomposability on team performance and establishes a social incentive framework for the influence of social relationships on team performance. The research results show that: firstly, social relationships have a positive impact on the effort level and cooperation orientation of individual behavioral choices; Secondly, both effort level and cooperation orientation have a positive impact on team performance, but in the context of smaller enterprise scale, the positive effect of effort level is stronger than that of cooperation orientation; Finally, task decomposability negatively moderates the relationship between individual behavioral choices and team performance. This study reveals the social incentive mechanism by which social relationships affect team performance, providing a new perspective for optimizing the matching of organizational tasks and organizational structure.

Key words: team performance, social relations, social incentives, behavioral choice, task decomposability

CLC Number:

JIANG Junfeng, CUI Lixia, ZHANG Qi, MA Mingyao. Micro mechanism of social relationships affecting team performance: a social incentive framework[J]. Journal of Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, 2025(02): 74-83.

References

[1] Xie B,LI M.Coworker Guanxi and Job Performance:Based On the Mediating Effect of Interpersonal Trust[J].Technological Forecasting and Social Change,2021,171:120981.
[2] 余达淮,贾正宇.虚假与真实:元宇宙和人类文明新形态[J].阅江学刊,2024(4):33~41.
[3] Omer T C,Shelley M K,Tice F M.Do Director Networks Matter for Financial Reporting Quality? Evidence From Audit Committee Connectedness and Restatements[J].Management Science,2020(8):3361~3388.
[4] 沈伊默,诸彦含,周婉茹,等.团队差序氛围如何影响团队成员的工作表现——一个有调节的中介作用模型的构建与检验[J].管理世界,2019(12):104~115.
[5] Tan C,Zhang J,Zhang Y.The Mechanism of Team-Member Exchange On Knowledge Hiding Under the Background of "Guanxi"[J].Journal of Business Research,2022,148:304~314.
[6] Zhang Q,Pan J,Jianh Y,et al.The Impact of Green Supplier Integration On Firm Performance:The Mediating Role of Social Capital Accumulation[J].Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management,2020(2):100579.
[7] Sheng S,Zhou K Z,Li J J.The Effects of Business and Political Ties On Firm Performance:Evidence From China[J].Journal of Marketing,2011(1):1~15.
[8] 窦红宾,王正斌.社会资本对企业创新绩效的影响——知识资源获取的中介作用[J].预测,2011(3):48~52.
[9] Sterling A D.Friendships and Search Behavior in Labor Markets[J].Management Science,2014(9):2341~2354.
[10] Chen C,Kuo M.The Perceived Need for Guanxi:Organizational,Interpersonal,and Individual Antecedents[J].International Public Management Journal,2024(2):1~19.
[11] Horak S,Afiouni F,Bian Y,et al.Informal Networks:Dark Sides,Bright Sides,and Unexplored Dimensions[J].Management and Organization Review,2020(3):511~542.
[12] Huang S S,Yu Z,Shao Y,et al.Relative Effects of Human Capital,Social Capital and Psychological Capital On Hotel Employees’ Job Performance[J].International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,2020(2):490~512.
[13] Liu J,Zhu Y.Promoting Tacit Knowledge Application and Integration through Guanxi and Structural Holes[J].Journal of Knowledge Management,2020(5):1027~1058.
[14] Adler P S,Kwon S.Social Capital:Prospects for a New Concept[J].Academy of Management Review,2002(1):17~40.
[15] 姚小涛,张田,席酉民.强关系与弱关系:企业成长的社会关系依赖研究[J].管理科学学报,2008(1):143~152.
[16] Wu W,Wu C,Zhou C,et al.Political Connections,Tax Benefits and Firm Performance:Evidence From China[J].Journal of Accounting and Public Policy,2012(3):277~300.
[17] Lee S Y.How Do People Compare Themselves with Others On Social Network Sites:The Case of Facebook[J].Computers in Human Behavior,2014,32:253~260.
[18] Gilbert D T,Giesler R B,Morris K A.When Comparisons Arise[J].Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,1995(2):227~236.
[19] Greenberg J.Losing Sleep Over Organizational Injustice:Attenuating Insomniac Reactions to Underpayment Inequity with Supervisory Training in Interactional Justice[J].Journal of Applied Psychology,2006(1):58~69.
[20] Wayne S J,Shore L M,Bommer W H,et al.The Role of Fair Treatment and Rewards in Perceptions of Organizational Support and Leader-Member Exchange[J].Journal of Applied Psychology,2002(3):590~598.
[21] Liden R C,Wayne S J,Jaworski R A,et al.Social Loafing:A Field Investigation[J].Journal of Management,2004(2):285~304.
[22] Ambrose M L,Cropanzano R.A Longitudinal Analysis of Organizational Fairness:An Examination of Reactions to Tenure and Promotion Decisions[J].Journal of Applied Psychology,2003(2):266~275.
[23] Moorman R H,Byrne Z S.How Does Organizational Justice Affect Organizational Citizenship Behavior?[M]//Greenberg J C J A.Handbook of organizational justice.New York:Psychology Press,2013:355~380.
[24] Christian M S,Garza A S,Slaughter J E.Work Engagement:A Quantitative Review and Test of its Relations with Task and Contextual Performance[J].Personnel Psychology,2011(1):89~136.
[25] Rich B L,Lepine J A,Crawford E R.Job Engagement:Antecedents and Effects On Job Performance[J].Academy of Management Journal,2010(3):617~635.
[26] Freeney Y,Fellenz M R.Work Engagement,Job Design and the Role of the Social Context at Work:Exploring Antecedents from a Relational Perspective[J].Human Relations,2013(11):1427~1445.
[27] Raue M,D'ambrosio L A,Coughlin J F.The Power of Peers:Prompting Savings Behavior through Social Comparison[J].The Journal of Behavioral Finance,2020(1):1~13.
[28] Cropanzano R,Byrne Z S,Bobocel D R,et al.Moral Virtues,Fairness Heuristics,Social Entities,and Other Denizens of Organizational Justice[J].Journal of Vocational Behavior,2001(2):164~209.
[29] Cialdini R B,Trost M R.Social Influence:Social Norms,Conformity and Compliance[M]//The Handbook of Social Psychology.New York:McGraw-Hill Companies,1998:151~192.
[30] Dolan P,Elliott A,Metcalfe R,et al.Influencing Financial Behavior:From Changing Minds to Changing Contexts[J].Journal of Behavioral Finance,2012(2):126~142.
[31] Frederiks E R,Stenner K,Hobman E V.Household Energy Use:Applying Behavioural Economics to Understand Consumer Decision-Making and Behaviour[J].Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,2015,41:1385~1394.
[32] Taylor S E,Buunk B P,Aspinwall L G.Social Comparison,Stress,and Coping[J].Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,1990(1):74~89.
[33] Nielsen T M,Bachrach D G,Sundstrom E,et al.Utility of Ocb[J].Journal of Management,2012(2):668~694.
[34] 魏光兴,张舒.基于同事压力与群体规范的团队合作[J].系统管理学报,2017(2):311~318.
[35] 杨伟明,孟卫东.联盟组合管理、合作模式与企业绩效[J].外国经济与管理,2018(7):32~43.
[36] 姚艳虹,肖石英.组织公民行为与员工绩效的相关性分析[J].管理学报,2006(3):324~328.
[37] Ramasubbu N,Shang J,May J H,et al.Task Interdependence and Firm Performance in Outsourced Service Operations[J].Manufacturing & Service Operations Management,2019(3):658~673.
[38] 李召敏,赵曙明.转型经济下民营企业的制度支持、任务导向型战略领导行为与组织绩效研究[J].管理学报,2016(3):385~394.
[39] Rac-lubashevsky R,Kessler Y.Decomposing the N-Back Task:An Individual Differences Study Using the Reference-Back Paradigm[J].Neuropsychologia,2016,90:190~199.
[40] Kakar A K S.Engendering Cohesive Software Development Teams:Should We Focus On Interdependence Or Autonomy?[J].International Journal of Human-Computer Studies,2018,111:1~11.
[41] Zhou Y M.Designing for Complexity:Using Divisions and Hierarchy to Manage Complex Tasks[J].Organization Science,2013(2):339~355.
[42] Hu T,Messelodi S,Lanz O.Dynamic Task Decomposition for Decentralized Object Tracking in Complex Scenes[J].Computer Vision and Image Understanding,2015,134:89~104.
[43] Jiang J,An B,Jiang Y,et al.Group-Oriented Task Allocation for Crowdsourcing in Social Networks[J].Ieee Transactions On Systems,Man,and Cybernetics:Systems,2021(7):4417~4432.
[44] 陆瑶,胡江燕.CEO与董事间的"老乡"关系对我国上市公司风险水平的影响[J].管理世界,2014(3):131~138.
[45] Kang J,Liu W,Low A,et al.Friendly Boards and Innovation[J].Journal of Empirical Finance,2018,45:1~25.
[46] 罗肖依,周建,王宇.独立董事——CEO友好性、业绩期望落差与公司创新[J].南开管理评论,2023(4):168~181.
[47] Christen M,Iyer G,Soberman D.Job Satisfaction,Job Performance,and Effort:A Reexamination Using Agency Theory[J].Journal of Marketing,2006(1):137~150.
[48] Huang I,Huang P,Chen Y.A Study of Taiwan's Travel Agent Salary System:An Agency Theory Perspective[J].Tourism Management,2004(4):483~490.
[49] Gold A H,Malhotra A,Segars A H.Knowledge Management:An Organizational Capabilities Perspective[J].Journal of Management Information Systems,2001(1):185~214.
[50] Campion M A,Medsker G J,Higgs A C.Relations Between Work Group Characteristics and Effectiveness:Implications for Designing Effective Work Groups[J].Personnel Psychology,1993(4):823~847.
[51] Jehn K A.A Multimethod Examination of the Benefits and Detriments of Intragroup Conflict[J].Administrative Science Quarterly,1995(2):256.
[52] Stock R M.Interorganizational Teams as Boundary Spanners between Supplier and Customer Companies[J].Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,2006(4):588~599.
[53] Laffont J J,Martimort D.Incentive and Participation Constraints with Moral Hazard[M]//The Theory of Incentives:The Principal-Agent Model.New Jersey:Princeton University Press,2022:230~232.
[54] 陈勇强,傅永程,华冬冬.基于多任务委托代理的业主与承包商激励模型[J].管理科学学报,2016(4):45~55.
[55] Gu J,Koenker R.Invidious Comparisons:Ranking and Selection as Compound Decisions[J].Econometrica,2023(1):1~41.
[56] Halac M,Lipnowski E,Rappoport D.Rank Uncertainty in Organizations[J].American Economic Review,2021(3):757~786.
[57] Gill D,Kissova Z,Lee J,et al.First-Place Loving and Last-Place Loathing:How Rank in the Distribution of Performance Affects Effort Provision[J].Management Science,2019(2):494~507.
[58] 马明瑶.社会关系对组织绩效的权变效应[D].西安理工大学,2022.