Bonds without Bondage: Escaping Entrapment in Managerial Networks

Matthew S. Bothner; Richard Haynes; Ingo Marquart; Nghi Truong; Hai Anh Vu

doi:10.6092/issn.1971-8853/21638

Authors

Matthew S. Bothner European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), Berlin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0903-5280

Matthew S. Bothner is a Professor of Strategy and Deutsche Telekom Chair in Leadership and HR Development at ESMT Berlin (Germany). He studies status, leadership, and semantic networks. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University’s Department of Sociology.
Richard Haynes Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5743-4296

Richard Haynes is a Deputy Director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (USA). He obtained his PhD in Mathematics at the University of Chicago and, along with his work in social network theory, specializes in research and policy work in financial markets and derivatives.
Ingo Marquart statworx https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2353-135X

Ingo Marquart is Natural Language Processing Lead at statworx (Germany). His research focuses on the analysis of social, textual, and semantic networks. In 2022, he received his PhD from ESMT Berlin, where he applied large language models to uncover change in the meaning of organizational roles such as leadership.
Nghi Truong Sasin School of Management, Chulalongkorn University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9761-7802

Nghi Truong is a core faculty member of Sasin School of Management, Chulalongkorn University (Thailand). Her research centers on the impact of artificial intelligence and the future of organizations. She earned her PhD from ESMT Berlin in 2022.
Hai Anh Vu UEH University, College of Economics, Law and Government https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9856-5825

Hai Anh Vu is an applied microeconomist with over 10 years of experience in policy evaluation and behavioral research, with a strong focus on training, digital skills, and the future of work. He holds a PhD in Economics from the Technical University of Berlin and lectures at the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/21638

Keywords:

Markets, roles, annealing, networks, prolepsis, status

Abstract

This paper explores the emergence of constraints in managerial networks and the strategies by which individuals regain autonomy. Drawing on Harrison C. White’s theories, we construct and analyze a series of examples that are composite narratives informed by the second author’s work at a global investment bank. Our examples show how professional relationships, initially pursued for career advantage, can crystallize into rigid, constraining roles. We also illustrate three strategies that restore autonomy: annealing, a strategy of controlled disruption; network reaching, which establishes counter-normative ties across social boundaries; and prolepsis, a form of anticipatory rhetoric that affects action through vivid, seemingly inevitable pictures of the future. We thus portray autonomy as recoverable through strategies that reshape network ties and conversational frames. We also explore how status shapes the feasibility of these strategies, with low status requiring network reaching and trust-building dialogue, and high status supporting prolepsis. Our discussion adds to the literature on networks and leadership, emphasizing how roles, strategy, and status interact to constrain and enable managerial agency.

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Bonds without Bondage: Escaping Entrapment in Managerial Networks

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