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Bringing Political Skill into Social Networks: Findings from a Field Study of Entrepreneurs

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  • Ruolian Fang
  • Lei Chi
  • Manli Chen
  • Robert A. Baron

Abstract

The authors integrate the entrepreneurship literature's sociological and behavioural perspectives and examine the processes through which entrepreneurs first build social networks and then use the network resources for enhancing venture performance. Field interviews of entrepreneurs during a six-month period reveal that political skill is an important individual-level factor that influences the construction and use of social networks. Theoretical and practical implications of the major findings are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruolian Fang & Lei Chi & Manli Chen & Robert A. Baron, 2015. "Bringing Political Skill into Social Networks: Findings from a Field Study of Entrepreneurs," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 175-212, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:52:y:2015:i:2:p:175-212
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pei Sun & Kamel Mellahi & Mike Wright & Haoping Xu, 2015. "Political Tie Heterogeneity and the Impact of Adverse Shocks on Firm Value," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(8), pages 1036-1063, December.
    2. Guangxi Zhang & Jianan Zhong & Muammer Ozer, 2020. "Status Threat and Ethical Leadership: A Power-Dependence Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(3), pages 665-685, January.
    3. Franke, Henrik & Foerstl, Kai, 2018. "Fostering integrated research on organizational politics and conflict in teams: A cross-phenomenal review," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 593-607.
    4. Ruolian Fang & Blaine Landis & Zhen Zhang & Marc H. Anderson & Jason D. Shaw & Martin Kilduff, 2015. "Integrating Personality and Social Networks: A Meta-Analysis of Personality, Network Position, and Work Outcomes in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(4), pages 1243-1260, August.
    5. Greg Fisher, 2024. "Resourcefulness Enactment: The Sensemaking Process Underpinning Resourceful Actions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(4), pages 911-940, July.
    6. Demirbağ Orkun & Demirbağ Kübra Şimşek & Batı Gülgönül Bozoğlu, 2022. "Women Entrepreneurs’ Education Level, Political Skill, and Firm Performance: Political Influence and Human Capital Theories," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 30(1), pages 40-69, March.
    7. Engel, Yuval & Kaandorp, Mariëtte & Elfring, Tom, 2017. "Toward a dynamic process model of entrepreneurial networking under uncertainty," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 35-51.
    8. Travis J. Grosser & David Obstfeld & Emily W. Choi & Meredith Woehler & Virginie Lopez-Kidwell & Giuseppe (Joe) Labianca & Stephen P. Borgatti, 2018. "A Sociopolitical Perspective on Employee Innovativeness and Job Performance: The Role of Political Skill and Network Structure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 612-632, August.
    9. Fisher, Greg & Neubert, Emily & Burnell, Devin, 2021. "Resourcefulness narratives: Transforming actions into stories to mobilize support," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(4).
    10. Demirbağ Orkun & Demir Hale Cide & Yozgat Uğur, 2020. "Political Will, Political Skill, Network Resources and Personal Reputation: A Serial Two-Mediator Model," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 28(3), pages 26-56, September.
    11. Katharina Scheidgen & Anna Brattström, 2023. "Berlin is Hotter Than Silicon Valley! How Networking Temperature Shapes Entrepreneurs’ Networking Across Social Contexts," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(6), pages 2233-2262, November.
    12. Samuel Adomako & Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah & Albert Danso & George Obeng Dankwah, 2021. "Chief executive officers' sustainability orientation and firm environmental performance: Networking and resource contingencies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 2184-2193, May.
    13. Hongjiang Lv & Xinghua Zhao & Man Cao & Jingjing Ding, 2023. "How can managers, acting as brokers, be ambidextrous? The effect of trust brokerage on managers’ ambidexterity," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(3), pages 1008-1034, July.
    14. Mariëtte Kaandorp & Elco van Burg & Tomas Karlsson, 2020. "Initial Networking Processes of Student Entrepreneurs: The Role of Action and Evaluation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(3), pages 527-556, May.
    15. Hansin Bilgili & Jonathan L. Johnson & Tsvetomira V. Bilgili & Alan E. Ellstrand, 2022. "Research on social relationships and processes governing the behaviors of members of the corporate elite: a review and bibliometric analysis," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(8), pages 2285-2339, November.

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