Friendship and Advice Networks in the Context of Changing Professional Values

Abstract

In this article, I discuss the attributes of friendship and advice networks and hypothesize about their roles in maintaining and changing professional values. Advice networks sustain existing professional values in organizations. They are less likely to transmit new values because advice relations reflect current practice and may be negatively affected by changing values. Friendships rest on intimacy and trust rather than on existing task structures, so they can facilitate the development of new professional values without negatively affecting the friendship network. A longitudinal study of networks and teaching values in four public schools documented an initial alignment of advisors' and advisees' teaching values, followed by transmission of new teaching values through the friendship network. Changing professional values altered the advice network but did not affect the friendship network.