Antecedents of Dyadic Group Formation Intention from a Networks’ Perspective:An Exploratory Study on Management Students

An individual forms a perception of the fellow members of organization or department based on several factors. In this paper we specifically deal with factors affecting dyadic (one to one) group formation intention of an individual. We derived various antecedents of dyadic group formation intention of an individual from inter-personal attraction literature, matching literature, group literature and social networks literature. Combining all the aspects from these literatures, we propose a model in this study which would broaden our understanding of group literature and networks literature. We have developed various hypotheses on the relationship between dyadic group formation intention and its antecedents. Using data collected from the MBA students who are in their last trimester, of a reputed Business school in India, the hypotheses were tested and results were analyzed using hierarchal regression modeling. In total, 111 responses from students, nested in 555 dyads were kept for final analysis. We found that relational factors like trust and tie-strength which developed over the time were predictors of dyadic group formation intention whereas similarity and task based factors which developed in very less time and were contextual were not predictors of dyadic group formation intention. Based on the findings, detailed implications of the results are discussed and the future scope and limitations are highlighted.