Negative ties and gender (as a contextual variable) have remained under-studied in the social networks research in management. Drawing on occupational gender-typing theory, the paper hypothesizes that the relationship between indegree centrality of employees in a positive ties-based network and their tendency to cite their colleagues in negative ties differs in a feminine and a masculine occupation. Using network data from two organizations in India, the paper shows that in a feminine occupation (nursing), the higher the indegree centrality of the employees in a positive ties-based network, the less likely are they to cite negative ties whereas, in a masculine occupation (mining), the higher the indegree centrality of the employees in a positive ties-based network, more likely are they to cite negative ties. We make a theoretical contribution by extending the occupational gender-typing theory in social networks research by theorizing and examining the distinctive effects of the context – feminine and masculine occupations – on networks and work relations. We also discuss the managerial implications of the study.

在管理中的社交网络研究中，负面关系和性别（作为上下文变量）仍未得到充分研究。借鉴职业性别类型理论，本文假设员工在基于积极关系的网络中的入度中心性与其在消极关系中引用同事的倾向之间的关系在女性和男性职业中有所不同。该论文使用来自印度两个组织的网络数据表明，在女性职业（护理）中，员工在基于积极关系的网络中的中心度越高，他们引用消极关系的可能性就越小，而在男性职业（采矿业），员工在基于积极关系的网络中的入度中心性越高，他们很可能会引用负面关系。我们通过理论化和检验背景——女性和男性职业——对网络和工作关系的独特影响，在社会网络研究中扩展了职业性别类型理论，从而做出了理论贡献。我们还讨论了这项研究的管理意义。