This article examines how the time relevance of social capital from social networks affects upward mobility. An analysis of survey data from 229 employees in a high-technology workplace shows that the effects of position-related networks (measured by network size and density) on promotion are affected by the temporal distribution of ties (measured by whether a tie was formed before or after an employee's positional change), while the effects of person-related networks are insensitive to temporal effects. The results support a necessary emphasis on the time-contingent value of social capital. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of the findings for organization theories and network theories.
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