Journal articles on the topic 'Inter-firm Business Networks'
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Sharafizad, Jalleh, and Kerry Brown. "Regional small businesses’ personal and inter-firm networks." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 35, no. 12 (April 27, 2020): 1957–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-09-2019-0432.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of personal and inter-firm networks and the elements that contribute to the formation and management of these networks for regional small businesses. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 small business owners located in regional areas. Findings The findings highlight key characteristics of regional small business owners’ networks. Findings indicated that participants relied strongly on their personal networks for business purposes. This study shows that while personal networks adapted and changed into informal inter-firm networks, weak-tie relations within inter-firm networks were unlikely to develop into close personal networks. Novel findings also include a preference for “regional interactions” and included regular collaboration with local business competitors. Although the participants used social media to manage their business through personal networks, results confirmed there was a lack of awareness of the benefits of inter-firm networks with businesses outside the local region. Originality/value While it is acknowledged small business owners use personal and inter-firm connections to maintain and grow their business, there is a lack of research examining both of these networks in the same study. This research addresses this gap and presents five propositions as a useful direction for future research. This paper adds to the evolution of existing knowledge by expanding understanding of the formation of business networks and conditions of business trust relations within a regional context.
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Camagni, Roberto. "Inter-Firm Industrial Networks:." Journal of Industry Studies 1, no. 1 (October 1993): 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13662719300000001.
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Huggins, Robert. "Building and Sustaining Inter-firm Networks." Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit 13, no. 2 (August 1998): 133–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02690949808726434.
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The academic discussion of business co-operation and networks is often undertaken in fairly abstract terms. The objective of this paper is to add some realism through “on-the-ground” examples of inter-firm networks in which Training and Enterprise Councils (TECS) have acted in a facilitating and sup-portive capacity. This paper considers the practicalities and problems that TECs, often in the shape of “network brokers”, have encountered in facilitating the building and sustaining of local inter-firm networks, primarily among SMEs, in a number of differing scenarios. It was found that the most effective and sustainable networks are initially based on informal relations, such as those developed through voluntary attendance at “learning” workshops and seminars. As trust emerges and bonds are gradually gained these arrange-ments may evolve into more formal and long-term associations. It is suggested that the initial focus of projects should consist of expanding the “stakeholder webs” of SMEs through learning networks that focus on building the stock of social capital. Furthermore, gaining sufficient reserves of social capital should be considered prior to the planning of any formal “dotted line” commercial or innovation-based relations.
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AKIZAWA, HIKARI, and KYOICHI KIJIMA. "COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL NETWORKING AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR JAPANESE INDUSTRY IN THE INTERNET ERA." Journal of Enterprising Culture 07, no. 02 (June 1999): 155–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s0218495899000108.
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The aim of this study is, based on intensive comparative case studies, to analyze structure and process of entrepreneurial networks in the internet communication era. We then imply general insights on entrepreneurial networks, some of which suggest solutions to urgent problems concerning industry restructuring in Japan. Although during the long-term recession in Japan the value of entrepreneurship has been widely recognized, the number of business startups, however, has not readily increased, in spite of various efforts by many public institutions at developing support programs. On the other hand, it has been observed recently that some internet-based entrepreneurial networks have emerged spontaneously, which let business startups help each other and acquire Internet potential. This paper begins with proposing a conceptual typology for positioning various entrepreneurial networks on it. We then analyze two cases intensively by examining their emergence process and characteristics, guided by the conceptual framework. One is an internet-based entrepreneurial network to help business startups in Japan while the other is a non-internet-based entrepreneurial network that has been in the United States for fifteen years. We conducted participated observation in the former case for two years while we carried out interviews and material-based research for the latter. Finally, we derive general insights on entrepreneurial networks from the case studies. The major findings of this study are as follows: (1) Network polarity, loose and tight, is determined by two primary variable, i.e., expectations and membership. (2) Inter-personal networks can provide the infrastructure of inter-firm networks. Especially loose inter-personal networks tend to generate cooperative and tight inter-firm network, because a wide variety of members naturally enjoy opportunities to encounter potential business partners there. (3) We find different aims in inter-personal networks and inter-firm networks. The former is primarily for mutual aiding while the latter is for dealing with businesses. (4) The internet communications can simultaneously make networks both looser and tighter. (5) Loose inter-personal networks facilitated by the internet communication should have power to reorganize old industry structure in Japan by creating new business and new business relationship if the government support it with minimum intervention and maximum understanding.
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Yousaf, Zahid, and Abdul Majid. "Strategic performance through inter-firm networks." World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development 12, no. 4 (October 10, 2016): 282–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/wjemsd-03-2016-0015.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine and develop a strategic performance model for small and medium enterprises linking with inter-firm networks, strategic alignment and environmental dynamism. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the live experiences of 757 respondents, including managing directors/owners and CEOs of different SMEs, the authors proposed a theoretical model representing how firms could attain strategic performance through inter-firm networks with a mediating role of strategic alignment. Findings The current study demonstrated that SMEs with strong inter-firm networks have the ability to align business activities with strategies and get earlier strategic performance. Strategic performance looks skeptical to ever gain acceptance until strategic alignment is adopted by small and medium enterprises. The findings of this study indicated that environmental dynamism strengthens the relationship between strategic alignment and strategic performance. Originality/value This research extended the understanding about the inter-firm networks, strategic alignment and environmental dynamism surrounding strategic performance. This study identified and empirically tested how the inter-firm networks impact on strategic performance through the mediating effect of strategic alignment.
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Zang, Xiaowei. "Research Note: Personalism and Corporate Networks in Singapore." Organization Studies 20, no. 5 (September 1999): 861–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840699205007.
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Using a data set on 107 large Chinese firms, I examine inter-firm connectedness in Singapore. The analysis shows that firms in Singapore exhibit different levels of networking activities. Chinese firms that are owned by family have huge assets, good financial standing and are at the centre of business networks in Singapore. Big Chinese firms interlock with one another under the influence of Chinese business culture that stresses the importance of reputation and family ownership in networking activities. Personalism is a useful framework for gaining a good understanding of inter-firm relations in East and Southeast Asia.
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Lichtarski, Janusz Marek, and Katarzyna Piórkowska. "Heterarchical Coordination in Inter-organizational Networks: Evidence from the Tourism Industry." Tourism and hospitality management 27, no. 2 (2021): 235–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.20867/thm.27.2.1.
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Purpose – The aim of this paper is to report the results of a qualitative research on heterarchical coordination within an interorganizational network in the tourism sector. Design/Methodology/Approach – The study follows the qualitative approach and case study research design. The main data collection techniques were semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Data triangulation was used to collect and analyze qualitative research data and narrative form supported the presentation of the results. Findings – The study has shown the nature, strengths and weaknesses of heterarchical coordination within the distributed inter-firm network. Based on the study, heterarchy is an appropriate form of coordination for distributed inter-firm networks with a high proportion of SMEs operating in the tourism sector. Heterarchy supports a high level of engagement of focal firms in joint activities and emergent growth of the whole community. Originality of the research – The study brings a new overview of coordination mechanisms in interfirm networks and identifies the characteristics and conditions of heterarchical coordination in a distributed cooperative network. The results of the study are useful for scholars studying business networks as well as for managers and local authorities responsible for managing and supporting inter-firm networks in tourism destinations.
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Abdul Ghani, Ahmad Bashawir, and Malcolm Tull. "Alliance formation: A Study of the Malaysian Automobile Supporting Industry." Gadjah Mada International Journal of Business 12, no. 3 (September 5, 2010): 355. http://dx.doi.org/10.22146/gamaijb.5502.
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Competition in global industries is shifting increasingly from inter-firm rivalry to rivalry between networks of firms. Strategies of individual firms are thus contingent on the degree of interdependence that exists between them and the parent firm in the network. The present study examines the effect of network affiliation on a member firm’s decision to enter a foreign market and international strategic alliance formation. Affiliate firms have two options available to them: (1) enter into a competitive strategic alliance with a competitor or (2) enter into a symbioticstrategic alliance with the parent firm of the network organiza-tion. We tested this assertion using data from archival sources on sixty-five Japanese automobile suppliers that had set up strategic alliances in Malaysia and that belonged to various inter-organizational networks. Results indicate that when affili-ate firms are dependent on the parent firm, they prefer to form symbiotic strategic alliances. Conversely, affiliate firms prefer competitive strategic alliances with competitors when they are not dependent on the parent firm. ALLIANCE FORMATIONA Study of the Malaysian Automobile Supporting IndustryKeywords: automobile industry; joint venture; mode of entry; networks; strategic alliances
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Morandi, Valentina, and Francesca Sgobbi. "Learning in Networks of SMEs." International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals 2, no. 1 (January 2011): 66–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/jhcitp.2011010105.
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This paper contributes to the debate on the participation of SMEs in voluntary business networks by framing the relationship between the different types of network-based learning. Learning about networking, which concerns the capability to set, manage, and terminate a strategic alliance, is opposed to learning by networking, which involves the sharing and the joint creation of technical knowledge. The proposed framework is tested in the case of a network of Italian SMEs in the ICT sector. Empirical evidence confirms that learning about networking enables learning by networking and helps to balance those tensions and conflicts that inevitably mark the existence of inter-firm networks. Learning about alliance management provides networked IT entrepreneurs with the capabilities to compete against larger competitors. As learning paths also drive the evolution of inter-firm alliances, networked entrepreneurs would benefit from choosing collective goals in line with their alliance management capabilities.
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Biggiero, Lucio. "Self-organizing processes in building entrepreneurial networks: a theoretical and empirical investigation." Human Systems Management 20, no. 3 (September 3, 2001): 209–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/hsm-2001-20304.
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Self-organization is a property of social systems, and its recognition can give a remarkable contribution to the theory of entrepreneurship and to the analysis of inter-organizational networks. While literature on the classification of inter-firm networks and on their (dis)advantages is relatively abundant, there is much less on the processes of their formation and development. Since the convenience of building inter-firm networks is often uncertain and ambiguous, it involves social-psychological aspects and is based on personal relationships. This is particularly true in the case of small business networks, where the small firm size makes firm networks coincide with entrepreneurial networks. This characteristic can be extended to industrial districts, which are systems emerging from the interplay between small business networks. Industrial districts are weakly hierarchical organizations, which present the typical dual nature of social systems: the systemic nature, which is manifested more at the unity level, considering the district as a whole, and the subjective behavior of its members, which can play a crucial role either in triggering the district or in its evolutionary patterns. Such a double nature becomes a powerful engine of knowledge creation/transfer when organizations are recursive and self-organizing, and when the emerging values promote cooperation and trust. These co-evolutionary, recursive and self-organizing aspects have been synthesized in Nonaka's concept of ‘ba’. The cases discussed here deal with recursive processes in the formation of entrepreneurial networks in the biomedical district and in the formation of the district itself, which are seen as partially self-organizing processes. In the perspective considering knowledge as embodied in human beings and created by their social interactions, this paper concerns self-organizing and knowledge-creating processes at district and network levels.
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Siddiqui, Asif, Dora Marinova, and Amzad Hossain. "Venture Capital Networks in Australia: Emerging Structure and Behavioural Implications." Journal of Management and Sustainability 6, no. 2 (April 28, 2016): 21. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jms.v6n2p21.
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<p>Inter-firm collaboration and networking have significantly increased in the context of technological innovation, changing the business environment and contributing to rapid and global integration. Being at the heart of technological innovation and commercialization, the venture capital (VC) industry has adopted inter-firm alliance as a common practice on a global scale. The most common form of collaboration in the industry is investment syndication between firms which eventually leads to a network of syndication. Understanding drivers of syndication and its financial implications is no longer enough. The nature of the inter-firm collaboration networks can be influenced by location and industry characteristics, and in turn they can also influence the industry practices and change. This study investigates the emerging structure of the VC networks in technology ventures in Australia in order to capture key features of the Australian VC market. Using graph theory the paper presents syndication network graphs and analyses their structural properties. The connectivity and density analysis shows further scope for facilitating the flow of information and resources across the VC industry. Behavioural implications of the networks on the industry practices and viability are also analysed and questions raised about the VC industry’s contribution to supporting and mainsteaming sustainable technologies.</p>
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Jones, Andrew. "Local Economies and Business Networks Re-Visited." Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit 13, no. 2 (August 1998): 151–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02690949808726435.
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This article describes networks among business and professional services (BPS) firms in London, and deals with the relationship between the businesses interviewed and their locality. The article is based on empirical material derived from a large number of interviews with BPS firms in central London. It is noted that lateral links between firms are poor, relationships are better characterised as competitive rather than co-operative, and businesses tend to take little interest in the various support agencies. Although all the businesses interviewed placed great emphasis on the development of close, co-operative re-lationships with clients, markets are geographically diffuse. However, despite the weakness of localised, inter-firm links, businesses were able to identify a number of valuable and distinctive assets attached to their current location, which implies that the “local economy” continues to be important. The article finishes briefly with some implications for local economies and appropriate methods of business support.
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Galaso, Pablo, Adrián Rodríguez Miranda, and Santiago Picasso. "Inter-firm collaborations to make or to buy innovation." Management Research: Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management 17, no. 4 (October 14, 2019): 404–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/mrjiam-12-2018-0893.
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Purpose This paper aims to analyze the relationship between inter-firm collaboration network and the type of innovation strategies that can be followed by firms: buy or make innovation. In particular, the authors seek to analyze which are the network topologies that facilitate firms following a buy innovation strategy compared to those network properties that encourage internal R&D activities. Design/methodology/approach The authors use data from a fieldwork with face-to-face interviews applied to managing directors of firms in the rubber and plastic cluster of Uruguay. Subsequently, they combine social network analysis with regression techniques to determine how inter-firm networks can influence different types of innovation activities. Findings The authors find that degree centrality facilitates a buy innovation strategy, while betweenness centrality is positively associated with making innovation. Thus, having many direct links with other firms and organizations is relevant to buy innovation. However, indirect links that allow the firm to occupy a strategic position in the network are crucial to develop in-house innovation strategies. Research limitations/implications The results offer an advance in the explanation of the incidence of the cluster network structure on the firms innovation strategies; however, they should be contrasted with similar analysis in others clusters and complemented with in depth case studies on the mechanisms behind these phenomena. Practical implications These findings have practical implications for business innovation strategy. One factor that should be taken into account is the way in which firms interact with other actors in the cluster. On the one hand, firms can decide to establish and maintain many direct collaboration links, which may contribute to buy innovation. On the other hand, they can follow a more strategic and selective collaboration strategy to make innovation, a strategy that carefully studies not only its direct collaborations, but also what the potential indirect connections would be. Social implications These findings have policy implications regarding industry support organizations. The findings show that such organizations contribute significantly to the overall connectivity and cohesion of networks. This fact allows some firms to register high levels of betweenness centrality, and therefore, organizations can be an interesting instrument to support firms aiming to follow a make innovation strategy. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature that analyzes how inter-firm collaboration networks can influence innovation. In line with previous research, results verify that centrality is positively associated with innovation. However, the main contribution of this research is to provide evidence on different ways in which inter-firm networks are related to different innovation strategies (make or buy). In addition, the authors contribute to the understanding of collaboration dynamics and innovation activities in inter-firm interactions within a typical case of a low-tech cluster created under the so-called state-led industrialization model in Latin America.
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Johannisson, Bengt, Marcela Ramírez-Pasillas, and Gösta Karlsson. "The institutional embeddedness of local inter-firm networks: a leverage for business creation." Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 14, no. 4 (October 2002): 297–315. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08985620210142020.
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Napoli, Francesco. "Corporate governance and firm networks: An empirical research based on Italy." Corporate Ownership and Control 15 (2018): 231–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv15i2c1p9.
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We examine problems of strategic change and innovation in Italian firms which develop cooperative relationships with other firms. The inter-firm network phenomenon has taken on such importance in Italy that, in 2009, the State issued a law (Decreto Legge 5/2009) specifically to regulate the concluding of cooperative contracts for the formation of inter-firm networks. This law offers firms that wish to keep their groups of owners separate the possibility to establish a multiplicity of inter-firm relationships through the signing of just one single contract, named “Contratto di rete”, which, in this paper, we will refer to as a “network contract”. For historical reasons, all firms in Italy, even those quoted on the stock market (Milan Stock Exchange), exhibit a high level of ownership concentration. The largest class of blockholders is that of families who are active in the family firm. As regards the size of firms that maintain cooperative relationships, data on network contracts show that 95% of the firms stipulating these contracts are small- or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), so categorised because they have fewer than 50 employees. Through strategic alliances and collaborative relationships, Italian family firms have been able to develop business ideas that, as a consequence of the companies’ small dimensions, would have been impossible otherwise. On the basis of this premise, we considered it convenient to analyse small- or medium-sized family firms that developed relationships of cooperation regulated by network contracts in the period between 1/1/2013 and 31/12/2016. With reference to this category of firm, we analysed data on strategic change and innovation for a sample of 391 firms that accepted to be interviewed by us. Some of these firms had opened their top management teams (TMT) and/or their Boards of Directors to the participation of individuals from outside the dominant family, while others had not. The results of this research show that the firm that extends participation in the board or the Top Management Team by involving individuals from outside the dominant family, so as to gain better access to critical resources controlled by partners, creates a more favourable context for strategic change and innovation.
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Pezzillo Iacono, Mario, Vincenza Esposito, Lorenzo Mercurio, and Marcello Martinez. "Bridging business model and inter-organizational coordination mechanisms in the Italian wine industry." Measuring Business Excellence 20, no. 4 (November 21, 2016): 61–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/mbe-08-2016-0043.
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Purpose The aim of this paper is to interpret the concept of a business model from the pattern of coordination mechanisms used by an Italian wine cooperative to manage its inter-organizational relationships. Design/methodology/approach The business model is taken as the structure and governance of the relationships between the focal firm and its exchange partners. The empirical analysis is based on a qualitative investigation, analyzing material collected at the Farming Cooperative Gran Cru. Findings Several different coordination mechanisms were used to rethink the firm customer value proposition, showing a very complex and dynamic inter-organizational system: process control mechanisms, knowledge suppliers and clan control mechanisms. The combination of mechanisms enables the firm to govern the extreme complexity of external complementarities and interdependence among activities and resources. Practical implications The study is particularly helpful to managers because wine entrepreneurs and managers can influence their networks’ features and strategies, as well as the mechanisms for governance of the relationships and extracting customer value. Originality/value The study seeks to enrich the debate on the strategy/structure fit by shifting the focus from the organizational to inter-organizational level of analysis. The analysis centers on boundary-spanning relationships between one wine firm and its partners and knowledge suppliers. This perspective brings business model analysis and inter-organizational design closer because variables of the business model – such as customer value – can be seen as combinations of inter-organizational coordination mechanisms.
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Gretzinger, Susanne, and Birgit Leick. "Brokerage-based value creation: the case of a Danish offshore business network." IMP Journal 11, no. 3 (October 16, 2017): 353–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/imp-02-2016-0004.
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Purpose Social capital plays an important role in transforming knowledge within and across inter-firm business networks in industries. The purpose of this paper is to explore different kinds of transfer mechanism such as “bonding,” “bridging,” and “protecting” within a case network of the Danish offshore windmill industry. Its aim is to describe how these mechanisms interactively support value co-creation among the involved enterprises and how social capital, residing in the relationships between actors from the firms, is influenced by the different transfer mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach Based upon a single case study, the paper demonstrates “bonding,” “bridging,” and “protecting” as distinct, yet related, mechanisms for inter-firm business networking. The sample used covers selected key actors from the network as well as third-party experts from the Danish windmill industry, which together represent the most important knowledge-offering and knowledge-demanding domains. Findings Activities associated with “bridging” and “bonding” clearly matter for creating value for the business network and the industry alike, as they are supportive of strategic capability development (for instance, high-skilled work). While producers and supply companies apply such “bridging,” “bonding,” and additional “protecting” mechanisms based upon their predominant position, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), however, need to shape teams to do so. A major finding of the study is, thus, that team-based interrelationships among SMEs activate “bridging,” “bonding.” and “protecting” initiatives which are particularly supportive of capability improvement and industry growth. They enable the transfer of relevant capabilities between different projects where actors within SMEs organizations learn to activate and use such knowledge transfer mechanisms. Moreover, asymmetrical dependency-relationships can be partly overcome by shaping and using the mechanisms on the part of SMEs in the network. Originality/value To date, brokerage is still an under-explored topic with regard to inter-firm business networks. This case study contributes to the research by illustrating important and distinct qualitative aspects of brokerage, which are conceptualized as “bonding,” “bridging,” and “protecting” initiatives on the part of brokers. The study highlights that not only strong actors with central positions can step into the role as a broker. Even less resourceful actors within asymmetrical relations can act as broker and compensate a lack of resources or strengthen their position within the industry network. Consequently, value co-creating processes within industry networks can also be boosted by brokerage initiated by small companies.
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Munksgaard, Kristin Balslev. "Is this network for you or for me? The pursuit of self and collective interests in a strategic network." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 30, no. 3/4 (May 1, 2015): 279–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-12-2012-0245.
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Purpose – This paper aims to contribute by providing a more comprehensive understanding of the inter-relatedness of business goals among firms in strategic networks by exploring the following research question: How do different business goals coexist in networks? When joining a strategic network, firms are likely to pursue goals of self–interest, as well as those of collective interests. Goal formulation and joint network activities provide vital information toward investigating how firms utilize their network for the purpose of accessing, capturing and integrating the efforts of others to achieve their own goals. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical basis is a case study of a strategic network of food producers in Denmark. Twenty qualitative face-to-face interviews with strategic network member firms constitute the empirical data that are analyzed using the software Leximancer. Findings – This research combines the goal formulation and business of a single firm with the collective and joint effort of a strategic network to help broaden our knowledge of how different goals and strategies coexist in networks. A typology of business goals in networks is developed. Appellations of “Achievers”, “Wishers” and “Harvesters” help to characterize the different types of goal formulation strategies in these networks. Research limitations/implications – It is not appropriate to make statistical generalizations based upon this study. Originality/value – This research aims to contribute by providing a more comprehensive understanding of the inter-relatedness of formulated goals, choices and interactions among firms in a strategic network context.
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WINCENT, JOAKIM, and MATS WESTERBERG. "PERSONAL TRAITS OF CEOS, INTER-FIRM NETWORKING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THEIR FIRMS: INVESTIGATING STRATEGIC SME NETWORK PARTICIPANTS." Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 10, no. 03 (December 2005): 271–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s1084946705000215.
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This research tests a model including direct and indirect effects of CEO's personal traits (i.e., tolerance for ambiguity and self-efficacy) on entrepreneurial behavior for firms in a specific context, namely strategic SME networks. Findings indicate no direct relationship between personal traits and entrepreneurial behavior on the firm level but reports positive relationship between CEO's traits and levels of inter-firm networking with other strategic SME network participants. Inter-firm networking, in turn, is positively related to entrepreneurial behavior on the firm level. Our results thus indicate that personal traits of the CEO can be important to study in order to understand small firm behavior and performance. The absence of direct links may hide interesting indirect and mediating influences. Based on this, we argue that it is important for future research in the entrepreneurship domain to consider inclusion of context-specific action-based factors that may link CEO traits to entrepreneurship.
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Hallam, Cory, Carlos Alberto Dorantes Dosamantes, and Gianluca Zanella. "Culture and social capital network effects on the survival and performance of high-tech micro and small firms." Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 25, no. 1 (February 12, 2018): 81–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-05-2017-0161.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated theory to explain the effect of regional culture on high-technology micro and small (HTMS) firm outcomes. The integrated culture-social capital outcomes (CSCO) model examines the impact of culture on performance and evolution of HTMS firms through the mediating effect of intra-firm and inter-firm social capital. Design/methodology/approach Theoretical insights from social capital and culture are combined with the results of previous empirical observations to explain cross-cultural differences in the performance of HTMS firms. The authors then propose the CSCO model as a means to integrate and advance theory building. Findings The CSCO model explains the impact of culture on performance and evolution of HTMS firms through intra-firm and inter-firm social capital networks. Cultural context affects the performance of high-tech micro and small firms through the nature and structure of the networks involved in building and exploiting inter-firm and intra-firm social capital. Moreover, regional culture indirectly influences the balance between positive and negative effects of social capital on firm performance. These observations explain inconsistent findings from past empirical research and contribute to understanding the “embeddedness paradox” of social capital. Research limitations/implications The present model is not comprehensive. It does not account for many contextual factors identified in organizational network and cluster literature that contribute to the development of HTMS firms. Future research should consider the relationships between the three dimensions of social capital and seek to test the model with rigorous data collection and analysis. Originality/value While past studies focus on the direct relationship between regional culture and firm performance, this paper proposes the mediating effect of internal and external social capital between cultural context and firm performance. This proposal contributes to social capital and entrepreneurship literature and provides a potential explanation for inconsistent findings in past empirical research.
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Tambovtsev, V. L. "The entrepreneurial networks as an object of empirical narrative analysis." Moscow University Economics Bulletin, no. 5 (September 19, 2022): 3–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.38050/01300105202251.
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The purpose of the article is to analyze the possibilities and feasibility of using narrative analysis methods in studying the structure and dynamics of entrepreneurial networks. To achieve it, the author provides the description of an entrepreneurial network concept, explores the results of its exploration in the world science, which leads to the conclusion that the use of purely quantitative methods to study entrepreneurial networks does not allow us to reveal their essential features determined by a number of practically unmeasurable social factors. One of these results is the correlation between the two blocks in entrepreneurial business networks: personal entrepreneurial networks that arise before the start of an individual’s business activity, and ordinary inter-firm interactions that begin to operate after the start of his business, usually in the form of the creation of his first firm. The first block is not affected by standard official statistics and requires different research methods. Based on this, the article discusses in detail the concept of narratives and methods for studying them in social sciences, with a special attention on narrative analysis in economics. Finally, the author characterizes the variants of such analysis, proposes and substantiates the logic and methodological features of its application to the study of entrepreneurial networks.
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JENSSEN, JAN INGE, and ERLEND NYBAKK. "INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL NETWORKS AND INNOVATION IN SMALL, KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE FIRMS: A LITERATURE REVIEW." International Journal of Innovation Management 17, no. 02 (April 2013): 1350008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s1363919613500084.
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A growing body of research acknowledges that inter-organizational networks greatly influence a firm's innovation performance. This study extends our understanding of this relationship by considering the effect of inter-organizational networks on innovation in small, knowledge-intensive companies. Based on a literature review, we formulate four propositions regarding the moderating effects of firm size and knowledge intensity on the relationship between inter-organizational networks and innovation, as well as the influence of these factors on the development of the inter-organizational networks themselves.
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Shirinov, A. Sh o. "Evolution of Russian and foreign approaches to defining the content of industrial cooperation." Economics and Management 29, no. 1 (February 12, 2023): 75–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.35854/1998-1627-2023-1-75-84.
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Aim. The presented study aims to analyze and substantiate practical recommendations for the formation and application of controlled interaction technologies, the development of importdependent and export-oriented enterprises, as well as systems comprising a unified business space at the meso, macro, and global levels within the framework of inter-firm cooperation during import substitution and localization.Tasks. The authors substantiate their original approach to the formation and development of inter-firm network interaction, which involves integrating the management of the internal and external environment of an import-dependent and export-oriented enterprise of the real sector of the economy at the global, macro, meso and micro levels into a unified business space; consider an important component of strategic management as a function of the formation of managed interaction systems by a unified business environment that determines the sustainable development of enterprises, industries, and regions.Methods. This study uses general scientific and special methods of cognition to investigate the process of finding and applying new forms of enterprise management within the framework of inter-firm cooperation in the context of maximum environmental fluctuations.Results. It is found that scientific interest in cooperation is spiral in nature and each subsequent whorl reflects the realization of the opportunities provided by cooperation with regard to the current and future waves of innovation (for example, as it happens in the current historical period exhibiting the signs of transformation of inter-firm industrial cooperation into cybersocial networks organizing the interaction between man and machine). According to the authors, as industrial cooperation evolves based on a capacious base of theoretical and applied scientific research in the field of formation and management of network entities, it requires additional study of the possibility of development through the implementation of interaction in the systems of a unified business space.Conclusions. The study shows that the systems of a unified business space are a specific and promising form of implementation and management of the development of industrial cooperation that is in demand within the framework of the strategy of innovative development of production and products during the implementation of the policy of import substitution and industrial localization.
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RAMIREZ, MATIAS, and PETER DICKENSON. "GATEKEEPERS, KNOWLEDGE BROKERS AND INTER-FIRM KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN BEIJING'S ZHONGGUANCUN SCIENCE PARK." International Journal of Innovation Management 14, no. 01 (February 2010): 93–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s1363919610002568.
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An important part of industrial policy in China has been directed towards improving the degree and effectiveness of knowledge transfer between key firms in China's innovation system. Amongst these policies, the creation of regional science parks that encourage labour mobility and inter-firm collaboration on innovation projects have been central. Learning through inter-firm knowledge transfer focuses the attention on at least two key factors, improving absorptive capability (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990), which relies on the development of specialised skills in the firm and the establishment of inter-organisational networks through which knowledge is transferred. This paper contributes to this analysis through a detailed study of the relationship between learning and knowledge transfer of knowledge workers working on innovation projects in Chinese ICT companies located in Beijing's Zhongguancun (ZGC) high-technology park. A major advantage of analysing knowledge transfer through the activities of R'D employees is that it highlights the process by which specific competencies and network relations are built. A skills profile of R&D employees is developed that, amongst other features, includes three different networks Chinese knowledge workers use to access and share knowledge: formal organisational networks, personal networks and scanning networks. Empirical data based on two unique surveys in China of senior R&D managers and R&D employees was collected and analysed. This suggests that a skills profile combining knowledge within and outside of the company and scanning activity positively impact both the innovation projects and the labour market position of the knowledge workers. Policy recommendations in terms of training and development in R&D follow.
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Kimino, Satomi, Nigel Driffield, and David Saal. "Spillovers from FDI and local networks." Multinational Business Review 22, no. 2 (July 15, 2014): 176–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/mbr-01-2014-0004.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of host country networks and organisation of production in the context of international technology transfer that accompanies foreign direct investment (FDI). Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis is based on unbalanced panel data covering Japanese firms active in two-digit manufacturing sectors over a seven-year period. Given the self-selection problem affecting past sectoral-level studies, using firm-level panel data is a prerequisite to provide robust empirical evidence. Findings – While Japan is thought of as being a technologically advanced country, the results show that vertical productivity spillovers from FDI occur in Japan, but they are sensitive to technological differences between domestic firms and the idiosyncratic Japanese institutional network. FDI in vertically organised keiretsu sectors generates inter-industry spillovers through backward and forward linkages, while FDI within sectors linked to vertical keiretsu activities adversely affects domestic productivity. Overall, our results suggest that the role of vertical keiretsu is more prevalent than that of horizontal keiretsu. Originality/value – Japan’s industrial landscape has been dominated by institutional clusters or networks of inter-firm organisations through reciprocated, direct and indirect ties. However, interactions between inward investors and such institutionalised networks in the host economy are seldom explored. The role and characteristics of local business groups, in the form of keiretsu networks, have been investigated to determine the scale and scope of spillovers from inward FDI to Japanese establishments. This conceptualisation depends on the institutional mechanism and the market structure through which host economies absorb and exploit FDI.
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Chaudhry, Theresa Thompson. "Relational Contracting in Pakistan’s Surgical Instrument Cluster: An Empirical Study." Pakistan Development Review 49, no. 3 (September 1, 2010): 213–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.30541/v49i3pp.213-237.
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This paper tests an idea from relational contracting theory [Macauley (1963); North (1990); Greif (1994); Kranton (1996)] that informal relationships can substitute for formal contract enforcement through the judicial system, from the analysis of a new survey of the surgical instrument cluster in Sialkot, Pakistan. Inter-firm trust is thought to lead to reduced transaction costs (a passive benefit of a cluster). Considered here are exchanges of goods between clustered suppliers and their customers, who are either members of the cluster or firms that interact frequently with it. Inter-firm trust is measured as the amount of trade credit offered to customers. The results show that suppliers are more likely to offer trade credit when they believe in the effectiveness of formal contract enforcement and when they participate in business networks (proxied by inter-firm communication). There is also some evidence that customer lock-in helps to develop inter-firm trust since firms give more credit when relationships are of longer duration, and as locked-in customers are less able to find alternate suppliers.
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Duysters, Geert, and John Hagedoorn. "Strategic Groups and Inter-Firm Networks In International High-Tech Industries." Journal of Management Studies 32, no. 3 (May 1995): 359–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.1995.tb00780.x.
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Huggins, Robert. "Local Business Co-operation and Training and Enterprise Councils: The Development of Inter-firm Networks." Regional Studies 32, no. 9 (December 1998): 813–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00343409850117979.
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Della Corte, Valentina. "The light side and the dark side of inter-firm collaboration: How to govern distrust in business networks." Corporate Ownership and Control 6, no. 4 (2009): 407–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv6i4c3p6.
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In front of globalization, hypercompetition and turbulence (D’Aveni, 1994, 1995), it’s more and more frequent to see inter-firms relationships increase exponentially: alliances, partnerships, social groups, clans. Networks are becoming a prevailing organizational form in the21st century (Cravens, Piercy, 1994). The unit of analysis, in this article, is the strategic systems and more precisely the strategic network that develops within a territory (business districts, destinations) or a virtual set and that is even denser and more complex than ordinary networks: local resources can be relevant for the whole aggregate and relations are also physically or virtually particularly closed. Strategic networks and inter-firm collaborations have often been analysed with respect to their main success factors. Less attention has been paid to the more obscure and less satisfying aspects that someway explain why, in some cases, they fail or at least do not take off. Even theoretical frameworks usually adopted as Resource-Based Theory (Rumelt, 1982; Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991, 2007) Transaction Cost Economics (Williamson, 1975, 1981) and Social Network Theory (Granovetter, 1973, 1982; Lieberskind et al., 1996, Wasserman, Faust, 1999) are used according to a positive approach, aimed at finding and analyzing mainly successful initiatives. The aim of this article is to analyse, in particular, situations of distrust, that can either continue pushing firms not to cooperate or rather evolve towards more trustful situations and therefore with more chances of really developing business networks. A specific model is proposed, to manage distrust and to evolve towards trustful situations. The process, however, requires a specific intervention of a network governance actor, that can stimulate it. This actor must have distinctive capabilities and competences to manage the process. The proposed model is developed with the help of Game Theory (Fudemberg, Tyrole, 1991; Gibbons, 1992; Myerson, 2002, 2006) and can be applied empirically to verify what prevents actors from cooperating and how the governance actor can lead the process towards trust situations. Game theory is also used to study the possible level of coopetition (Brandenbruger, Nalebuff, 1996), that is the collaboration that can be put forward among competitors. Firms involved in these processes vary their own approaches both in terms of realizing the opportunities brought about by collaboration and of assuming a positive vs opportunistic behaviour. But the latter often prevails….The results offered by the model will also have some managerial implications since they should be able to give useful hints to decision makers on how to govern distrust. The model will be tested empirically on a sample of firms operating in tourism sector in Southern Italy, involved in local networks. In tourism industry, cooperation between players operating in the same destination is something needed to compete against global destinations. It will be then applied to other industries characterized by small and medium enterprises that have invested in the same area/district, with a high potential for collaboration.
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Kähkönen, Anni-Kaisa, Katrina Lintukangas, Paavo Ritala, and Jukka Hallikas. "Supplier collaboration practices: implications for focal firm innovation performance." European Business Review 29, no. 4 (June 12, 2017): 402–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ebr-04-2016-0058.
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Purpose Due to the increasing complexity in supply chains and networks, several key practices have been highlighted as beneficial for supply chain performance. However, it is less known whether adopting such practices affects the innovation performance of the focal firm. This study hypothesises that supplier collaboration practices in four specific areas (green and ethical supply management, early supplier involvement, systemic purchasing and inter-firm learning) may lead to higher focal firm innovation performance, as they require the firm to adopt new business models, processes and product features. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses drawn from previous research are tested with a quantitative survey study of 165 Finnish firms and analysed by means of regression analysis. Findings The results show that two examined practices are positively related to focal firm innovation performance: systemic purchasing and green and ethical supply management. Interestingly, early supplier involvement and inter-firm learning did not influence innovation performance. Originality/value Little is known about whether adopting certain practices in supply management affects the innovation performance of the firm. In fact, among the performance indicators of supply management, innovation is rarely studied, and more studies using innovation as a performance indicator are called for. Thus, this study focuses on supplier collaboration practices and their relation to the focal firm’s innovation performance.
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Della Corte, Valentina, and Mauro Sciarelli. "Can coopetition be source of competitive advantage for strategic networks?" Corporate Ownership and Control 10, no. 1 (2012): 363–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv10i1c3art5.
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Contributions on competitive strategy and advantage have been long concentrated on the single firm. In Europe small and medium enterprises still prevail, business districts are widespread and rivals are called to cooperate, in order to face the global context. Inter-firm collaboration seems to be the main path to survive and compete. Literature has more concentrated on the reasons for success of strategic alliances and networks even if many of them fail or do not take off. In the light of relational view and the absorptive capacity approach, the paper tries to verify whether coopetiton, can be, through the relations that generates, source of competitive advantage or rather of disadvantage. Theoretical hints are tested empirically on a sample of firms in Italy operating in tourism industry
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Henry, Leona A., and Guido Möllering. "Collective Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Trust as an Organizing PrincipleDate submitted: September 30, 2017Revised version accepted after double blind review: October 18, 2018." management revue 30, no. 2-3 (2019): 173–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/0935-9915-2019-2-3-173.
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Organizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) on a collective, rather than on the individual firm level, results in a set of specific challenges for organizations. The aim of this article is to assess these challenges inherent in collective CSR and to conceptualize trust as an organizing principle within these networks. To do so, we explore and outline the chief challenges faced within horizontal cooperation between inter-organizational actors aiming to realize CSR efforts collectively. Subsequently, we draw from the literature on trust as an organizing principle in inter-organizational networks and go on to develop mechanisms through which trust can address these challenges. This article contributes a new analytical framework that informs future studies on the role of trust in collective CSR. It enables a differentiated analysis of the potential, but also the pitfalls, of trust-based CSR at the network level.
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Bastholm, Steffen Muxoll, and Kristin B. Munksgaard. "Purchasing’s tasks at the interface between internal and external networks." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 35, no. 1 (January 6, 2020): 159–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-12-2018-0393.
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Purpose The strategic importance of the purchasing function increases, as its task become more dynamic in various interfaces with different suppliers. Changes in these customer–supplier interfaces pose specific challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the purchasing function handles the interplay of interface changes. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a qualitative single case study design. Data are collected through observations and interviews conducted before, during and after a concrete change of interface taking place between a buying firm and its suppliers and customers. Findings Three main findings are identified to redefine the tasks of the purchasing function. The first concerns the new ways of defining the purchasing tasks. The main issue is to balance tasks with the simultaneous changes influencing other interfaces and relationships. The second is the division and alignment of tasks in intra- and inter-organizational networks with regards to who decides and coordinates what. Third, the inter-connected performance relates to how other actors perform their tasks. For the purchasing function, managing supplier interfaces influences and is influenced by how the firm simultaneously manages its user interface. Practical implications For management, a new way to evaluate the performance of the purchasing function is needed by including relationship management and interactive capabilities. Originality/value This study contributes with new insights into how managing the dynamics of changing interfaces requires interactively defined purchasing tasks, division and alignment of tasks and inter-connected performance vis-à-vis others in the wider network setting.
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Chen, I.-Fen, and Shao-Chi Chang. "The intra business group effects of alliance network extensions." Management Decision 54, no. 6 (July 11, 2016): 1420–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/md-06-2015-0223.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better understand the influence of business group membership by exploring how actions by a member firm influence other firms in the business group. Specifically, the authors ask two questions in this study: when a member firm forms strategic alliances with partners outside of the business group, how does the alliance influence other members in the business group? Moreover, which types of member firms are more affected than others? Design/methodology/approach – The authors employ standard event-study methodology to examine the stock price responses for the focal and member firms on the announcement of an alliance. Moreover, the authors employ the cross-sectional regression analyses to test hypotheses concerning the impact of alliance, group, and firm characteristics on the cumulative abnormal returns of non-announcing members. All regressions are estimated using ordinary least squares. Findings – The results show that, on average, alliance-announcing member firms experience significantly positive share price responses to announcements of strategic alliances. Moreover, the impact of alliance formation spillover to other non-announcing members in the business group. The authors also find that the influences on the non-announcing members are dissimilar. The non-announcing members are more strongly affected when they are in different industries from the non-member partner, and when the ownership of the business group is more concentrated. Originality/value – This study is to extend the resource complementarities perspective, which may help firms to more effectively configure their network portfolios in order to develop synergies among related network resources. The study thus extends the alliance portfolio literature to the literature on business groups. Since the inter-firm networks within business groups are more complex than those in alliance portfolios, the authors are able to study how the structure of a business, such as ownership concentration, can influence the intra-network effect.
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Aureli, Selena, and Fabio Forlani. "The importance of brand architecture in business networks." Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal 19, no. 2 (April 11, 2016): 133–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/qmr-02-2016-0007.
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Purpose This study aims to understand if network brand management is a key activity in tourism business networks and how the network brand relates to the place brand and the brands of individual network members. Design/methodology/approach Preference has been given to a qualitative approach and to the use of case study methodology. Two qualitative techniques have been used: document analysis and in-depth semi-structured interviews. Findings Results indicate that network brand identity is a prerequisite for all alliances, thus confirming the brand’s aggregating role in business networks. However, the network brand is not always exploited for commercial purposes, as signalled by the few efforts in communication activities. Results also indicate that there is a strong connection between the network brand and the place, confirming that tourism businesses are intertwined on a local context and cannot avoid citing the place where they operate. Research limitations/implications Two main aspects limit the generalizability of this study. First, the empirical evidence is limited to four case studies and refers to only one country. Second, chairmen of the examined networks were interviewed without investigating the opinions of network members who may have contrasting views. Practical implications Poor brand management within the examined networks suggests that network managers should have more decision-making power. To apply concepts of brand architecture, network managers should be able to influence brand strategies of individual network members. For example, structures and processes could be created to engage all members in brand management activities like for Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) searching to increase participation of all stakeholders. Originality/value The novelty of this study is that it explores the role of brand management in networks created by partners with equal decision power. Moreover, it differs from previous research on inter-firm relations because it adopts the concept of brand consonance to evaluate if networks will succeed in the long term thanks to a proper management of the network brand.
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Tunisini, Annalisa, and Michela Marchiori. "Why do network organizations fail?" Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 35, no. 6 (February 24, 2020): 1011–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-01-2019-0056.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine network failures and the main reasons why network organizations, intentionally developed by a group of actors to pursue specific goals, become unfruitful and fail in their goals and expectations of creating collective value. The goal of this paper is thus to contribute a better understanding of the reasons network organizations encounter problems in their dynamics that prevent them from reaching the expected outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study is firstly based on a literature review finalized to identify the main variables considered as potentially impacting on network failures. Secondly, the paper is based on a survey conducted on 189 strategic networks that highlighted difficulties in achieving their goals. An analysis of the 24 questionnaires returned generated the results discussed. The empirical study concerns strategic networks intentionally created and signed by Italian SMEs according to a specific law designed to promote the development of inter-firm cooperation (“network contracts”). Findings The results of the research highlight the role of specific key items related to individual, structural, legitimacy, interaction and governance variables in explaining failures in network organizations. According to the data, failure can occur immediately before the network start-up, resulting in a blocked network or in a subsequent developmental stage, resulting in a dormant network. The empirical research demonstrated that the items affecting network failure differ between blocked and dormant networks. The authors explain such differences, considering them according to the expected goals declared by the two different types of networks. Originality/value The question of why networks fail is relevant in times of disruption and digitalization when new forms of organization are needed to link businesses and various stakeholders and thereby develop innovative and sustainable ideas for an entrepreneurial future. However, very few studies have examined network failure. The study contributes to this field of research by investigating the dynamics of networks intentionally developed to reach shared goals. The findings can be useful to both companies that decide to start up a strategic network and the policymakers that promote, finance and monitor inter-firm collaboration.
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THORGREN, SARA, JOAKIM WINCENT, and DANIEL ÖRTQVIST. "A CAUSE–EFFECT STUDY OF INTER-FIRM NETWORKING AND CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP: INITIAL EVIDENCE OF SELF-ENFORCING SPIRALS." Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 14, no. 04 (December 2009): 355–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s1084946709001363.
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Participating in inter-firm networks has become increasingly popular to enhance corporate entrepreneurship. Trust, relationship diversity and knowledge transfer are considered some of the prominent cornerstones of well-functioning networks. Using longitudinal survey data covering a population of 41 firms operating in two SME networks, we examine cause–effect relationships between interorganizational trust, relationship diversity and knowledge transfer, and corporate entrepreneurship among networking firms. We found a causal influence of knowledge transfer and relational diversity on corporate entrepreneurship. Our approach also identified self-enforcing spirals between network constructs and corporate entrepreneurship. Firms displaying high corporate entrepreneurship may stimulate the creation of relationships such as those characterized by high knowledge transfer that, in turn, are relationship characteristics that stimulate corporate entrepreneurship.
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Josserand, Emmanuel, Achim Schmitt, and Stefano Borzillo. "Balancing present needs and future options: how employees leverage social networks with clients." Journal of Business Strategy 38, no. 1 (January 16, 2017): 14–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbs-01-2016-0003.
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Purpose This paper aims to analyze how business units can use their employees’ external social capital to explore and exploit the resources available in their environment. Based on multiple interviews with the employees of the global commodity firm Gamma Chemical (around 50,000 employees), the research aims at gaining an understanding of the contextual conditions required to successfully build and leverage individuals’ external social client network ties for business unit ambidexterity. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a single-case study at Gamma Chemical that entailed 33 semi-directive interviews, each of which lasted 1-4 h, at different organizational levels (ranging from top-level management to production workers). We had access to three regional business units. The interviews addressed the links between the individuals in the business units and external actors. The authors also collected information about the company’s strategic objectives, the local competitive environment and work organization. Open-ended questions were used to allow the interviewees to freely relate anecdotes about their own network development. In particular, the authors asked the respondents to identify business contacts with whom they interacted privately and to describe the relationships. Findings The research findings are two-fold. First, and contrary to prior studies, the authors find that individuals’ social capital contributes to both exploration and exploitation at the business unit level. Second, developing and leveraging individuals’ external social capital requires a specific organizational context at the business unit level that allows employees to develop and nurture their personal business relationships with clients. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by the scope of the sample (a study of one large multinational firm). Further research conducted in similar contexts may therefore be useful for comparability purposes and to generalize the results. Practical implications Several practical recommendations describe how managers can effectively make use of their employees’ social connections with clients. In particular, the results suggest that managers should seek business unit flexibility on the basis of team-based structures, an autonomous leadership style and by actively creating a degree of critical social network tie redundancy, encouraging a shared network culture. These three specific conditions allow employees’ personal client networks to not only flourish but also contribute to business unit ambidexterity. Originality/value Prior social capital studies have analyzed intra-firm and inter-firm relationships in terms of contributing to firm ambidexterity. However, these findings have often been difficult to translate into specific organizational levels. Given business units’ critical role in identifying and implementing business opportunities for a firm, the authors focus on the micro-foundations of exploratory and exploitative learning by using a social capital perspective to explore the link between employees’ private external social relationships with clients and business unit ambidexterity. In this way, we contribute to the social capital literature and research on business unit ambidexterity and to extant contextual ambidexterity research by specifying the conditions that help firms develop and leverage their employees’ own external social capital for exploration and exploitation.
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Lee, Seung Chang, Bo Young Pak, and Ho Geun Lee. "Business value of B2B electronic commerce: the critical role of inter-firm collaboration." Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 2, no. 4 (December 2003): 350–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s1567-4223(03)00003-6.
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Colombo, Massimo G., Keld Laursen, Mats Magnusson, and Cristina Rossi-Lamastra. "Organizing Inter- and Intra-Firm Networks: What is the Impact on Innovation Performance?" Industry & Innovation 18, no. 6 (August 2011): 531–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2011.601958.
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M'CHIRGUI, ZOUHAÏER. "SMALL WORLD CHARACTERISTICS OF INNOVATIVE SMART CARD NETWORKS." International Journal of Innovation Management 14, no. 02 (April 2010): 221–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s1363919610002623.
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The paper examines the evolving innovative network structure in the smart card industry between 1992 and 2006. The aim is to search for sub-groups within the main network which allowed better understanding of the global innovative network structure and the speed of the smart card innovation system. Based on a proprietary database covering inter-firm agreements in the smart card industry, our empirical results reveal the existence of small-world structures, widely thought to enhance creativity and knowledge diffusion, and the emergence of giant components of innovative networks. Three notable features of this small world structure were the presence of broker incumbents, the decrease of average degree, and the increase of average distance of the networks.
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Turkina, Ekaterina, and Evgeny Postnikov. "From Business to Politics: Cross-Border Inter-Firm Networks and Policy Spillovers in the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood." JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 52, no. 5 (April 10, 2014): 1120–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12138.
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Lui, Tai-Lok. "Trust and Chinese Business Behaviour." Competition & Change 3, no. 3 (September 1998): 335–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/102452949800300303.
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This paper is about trust and economic exchange. It cuts into the current debate about trust, economic organization, and inter-firm cooperation on two counts. First, in reviewing the growing literature on trust. I shall address specifically the issues brought up by Williamson in his critique of the concept of ‘calculative trust’. I shall argue that the rational-instrumentalist conception of trust will, at best, give us a static and functionalist analysis of the effects of trust in economic transaction. To get out of the current impasse, we must look at trust as an element of the repertoire of economic action. Second, drawing upon empirical research on Chinese business behaviour. I shall show that the crux of the matter in establishing guanxi networks is really about drawing the boundary of personal network and framing an economic-relations in the moral tones of trust. But once the social relation is so defined, the framework of guanxi and trust are consequential in determining the proper behaviour for conducting business. Through an examination of the social processes of classifying business relations in terms of network and trust, it is shown how we can study trust and networking in economic exchange without falling back into the impasse of a functionalist analysis of trust in economic transaction.
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Gibbs, David. "Trust and Networking in Inter-firm Relations: the Case of Eco-industrial Development." Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit 18, no. 3 (August 2003): 222–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0269094032000114595.
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Despite much rhetoric concerning the implementation of sustainable development within local and regional economic development strategies, very few concrete examples exist of projects that combine economic, social and environmental aims. However, recently, a number of developments have occurred, based around ideas drawn from industrial ecology. These ecoindustrial parks seek to reduce environmental impacts, while at the same time improving business competitiveness and creating jobs. Eco-industrial parks rely upon creating networks of material and by-product flows between participating firms. However, it is frequently assumed that the trust and cooperation between firms that this involves will arise automatically. In this paper it is argued that a much more nuanced approach is needed, drawing upon work in economic geography and regional economics on trust, networking and untraded interdependencies.
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Della Corte, Valentina, and Mauro Sciarelli. "Relational knowledge and governance choices: A view within resource-based theory perspective." Corporate Ownership and Control 9, no. 1 (2011): 392–404. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv9i1c3art3.
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The paper is a theoretical paper, focused on the analysis of the intangible and cognitive content of inter-firm relationships, according to Knowledge Based View (Kogut and Zander, 1992; Foss, 1993, 1996; Nonaka, 1994; Grant, 1996, Teece, 1998). In particular, the issue is examined taking into account two main approaches on learning and knowledge creation: the exploration/exploitation model (March, 1991) and the model based on the concept of absorptive capacity (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). These approaches are analyzed critically, with specific reference to inter-firm collaboration, taking into account also contributions within the so called Relational View (Gulati, 1998; Dyer and Singh, 1998; Kale and Singh, 1999, 2007; Kale, Dyer and Singh, 2002), according to which the social aspect of the relationship between the firm and its external environment is a central question. The basic assumption is that external relationships can generate knowledge and competences that are potentially able to generate relational rents (Dyer and Singh, 1998), important not only for the single firm but also for the whole aggregate (alliance, rather than network) it belongs to. Then a systemic logic comes out, according to which partners interact, exchange knowledge and resources, through different governance models, in order to reduce relational costs and gain the most intense synergic effects. The problem is, however, that such a profitable collaboration does not seem to be so widespread and in some cases networks fail because of the lack of coordination mechanisms. From this point of view, a governance entity can be necessary or at least appropriate (Kale, Dyer and Singh, 2002). Therefore, the aim of the paper is to verify: the role of relational knowledge within and between networks, in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage. In this direction, also the relationship between knowledge view and resource-based theory is analyzed, considering the former to complete and enrich the latter; if governance choices regarding relational knowledge can be themselves sources of competitive advantage.
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NOOTEBOOM, BART. "Simmel's Treatise on the Triad (1908)." Journal of Institutional Economics 2, no. 3 (October 13, 2006): 365–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1744137406000452.
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In the literature on firms and organizations, in economics, sociology, and business studies, there has been an increasing awareness that firms need others, outside the firm, in order to function, and particularly in order to innovate. This has led to the proliferation of studies on subjects such as outsourcing, inter-firm alliances, and networks of firms. Still, though, most of these studies focus on dyads of firms (i.e., strategic interaction of firms). Even in network studies, networks were seen mostly as aggregates of dyads. In contrast, in network analysis in sociology there has been, for some time, attention to roles and effects of third parties and of triads. In particular, the work of Ronald Burt (e.g. Burt, 1992) noted the importance, especially in the context of the acquisition of new information, of being a third party in ‘bridging structural holes’ between unconnected nodes or networks, and the opportunities for advantage as a tertius gaudens (laughing third) in playing agents off against each other. While in network analysis this attention to triads is relatively new, it has, in fact, a long history, going back, in particular, to the work of the sociologist Georg Simmel. A recent publication that acknowledges this is Krackhardt (1999).
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TURKINA, EKATERINA, and EVGENY POSTNIKOV. "Cross-border Inter-firm Networks in the European Union's Eastern Neighbourhood: Integration via Organizational Learning*." JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 50, no. 4 (June 8, 2012): 632–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5965.2012.02253.x.
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Della Piana, Bice, and Alessandra Vecchi. "The internationalization of a family business group." Management Research: Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management 15, no. 4 (October 9, 2017): 380–404. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/mrjiam-02-2016-0642.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide some illustrative evidence to understand the distinctive forms of governance implemented by a well-established family business group (FBG) and to highlight the relative importance given to the different dimensions of socio-emotional wealth (SEW) during the internationalization process. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on multi-level and longitudinal data, the research provides in-depth insights into how the affiliated firms are linked to the focal firm, how the founding family in a large FBG organizes the top leadership roles spanning multiple countries and whether the inter-organizational and inter-personal networks changes over time and which are the most important items representing the SEW dimensions. Findings From the findings, it emerges that family ownership, family leadership and the presence of trusted people as pivotal actors in the FBG’s internationalization process. Originality/value The originality of the research stems from its contribution because despite providing illustrative evidence based on a single case-study, the findings offer additional insights over the importance of and the instrumental role played by SEW preservation as a perspective to explain FBGs’ internationalization.
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Fletcher-Chen, Chavi C. Y., Faten Baddar AL-Husan, and Fawaz Baddar ALHussan. "Relational resources for emerging markets’ non-technological innovation: insights from China and Taiwan." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 32, no. 6 (July 3, 2017): 876–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-05-2015-0092.
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Purpose This paper aims to highlight the importance of relational resources (trust and relationship effectiveness). The authors investigate how the Chinese guanxi is utilized to create and develop service exploitation and exploration activities for adopting non-technological innovations. Design/methodology/approach This study surveyed 252 Chinese and Taiwanese firms. The results were analyzed through structural equation model. Findings Relational antecedents of collaborative communication and constructive conflict positively relate to trust, as well as to relationship effectiveness. Constructive conflict positively relates to exploration and exploitation. Relationship effectiveness and trust mediate two relational antecedents to exploitation. Relationship effectiveness crucially mediates two relational antecedents to exploration. Research limitations/implications Dyadic data would be more desirable to study firm interactions. Practical implications Chinese society perceives conflict as being detrimental to relationships. Constructive conflict enhances inter-firm trust and relationship effectiveness. Relationship effectiveness, which motivates suppliers to mobilize their guanxi network, mediates the supplier–customer interaction in broadening relationships to produce new services, as well as reinforcing networks to strengthen existing ventures. Originality/value This study contributes to a relatively under-explored relationship effectiveness area. Chinese suppliers capitalize their guanxi networks to achieve competitive advantages in non-technological innovation.
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Claro, Danny, D. Zylbersztajn, and S. (Onno) Omta. "How to manage a long-term buyer-supplier relationship successfully? The impact of network information on long-term buyer-supplier relationships in the Dutch potted plant and flower industry." Journal on Chain and Network Science 4, no. 1 (June 1, 2004): 7–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.3920/jcns2004.x038.
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Recently, scholars have suggested that to understand fully the nature of a dyadic relationship, greater attention must be directed to the network context. In this study we drew on emerging perspectives on inter-firm governance and networks to develop a theoretical framework to understand the successful governance of long-term buyer-supplier relationships. In order to test the research framework, we conducted a survey among 174 merchant distributors (buyers) and 67 growers (suppliers) in the Dutch potted plant and flower industry. In the estimated models, we found several positive impacts of the information obtained from the business network on the dimensions of relationship management, and ultimately performance, both in terms of operations as well as finance. The results of this study support our rationale that the business network compensates for the information asymmetry assumed in transaction cost economics. Although there are several similarities in our findings, buyers and suppliers use clearly different information strategies to achieve success. While the most successful distributors tend to take the 'hard', tangible approach using transaction-specific investments and fostering joint action, the successful growers take the 'soft', social approach by putting emphasis on norms of flexibility in the relationship. Managers may use these findings to check the adequacy of their business networks and their approach to relationship management.