The Influence of Virtuality on Social Network: A Multi-level Approach

Virtuality is a product of the information age, and as it plays a larger role in the activities of individuals, groups and organizations, the issue of how human behavior varies between virtual and physical space has become one of the most important questions facing the management environment of today. The purpose of this article is to examine how virtuality shapes individuals' social relationships within and outside their work groups. We developed a conceptual framework that explores the links between virtuality and social network based on computer-mediated communication theory and social network theory. Using data from 172 individuals of 42 project teams in 5 global business consulting firms, we tested cross-level hypotheses. The results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) indicate that virtuality significantly influences individual's internal tie strength as well as external bridging ties. The results also show the effects of virtual process via CMC vary along with the virtual context.