Table 1 Brokerage Roles, according to Fernandez and Gould[30]

Coordinator

The broker (middle node) is from the same group as the source and destination individuals: A-- > A-- > A (all nodes belong to same group)

Gate-keeper

the broker connects a source from another group to a destination in his/her own group: B-- > A-- > A (source belongs to different group)

Representative

the broker connects his/her own group member to an individual from another group: A-- > A-- > B (recipient belongs to different group)

Consultant

the broker comes from another group and connects two people from the same group with each other: In a B-- > A-- > B (broker belongs to different group)

Liaison

the source, broker, and destination individuals are all from different groups: B-- > A-- > C (all nodes belong to different groups)