IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v40y2016i1p49-79.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reaching and Acquiring Valuable Resources: The Entrepreneur's Use of Brokerage, Cohesion, and Embeddedness

Author

Listed:
  • Salih Zeki Ozdemir
  • Peter Moran
  • Xing Zhong
  • Martin J. Bliemel

Abstract

Entrepreneurs have two key aims in managing their ego–networks: extending reach to valuable resources and facilitating resource acquisition. This study provides a synthesis of the brokerage, cohesion, and embeddedness literatures to develop and present a multilevel theoretical framework and analytical model that treat both aims jointly. It makes three contributions. First, it highlights a trade–off that entrepreneurs face in allocating their available networking time and energy while pursuing these two aims. Second, it explores the central role of two types of embeddedness—relational and structural—in resolving this trade–off. Third, it helps entrepreneurs decide when to embed a particular dyadic connection relationally or structurally. We show that entrepreneurs can better balance their dual aim by structurally embedding some ties rather than trying to relationally embed all. The resultant network is one that meshes characteristics of brokerage and cohesive ego–network structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Salih Zeki Ozdemir & Peter Moran & Xing Zhong & Martin J. Bliemel, 2016. "Reaching and Acquiring Valuable Resources: The Entrepreneur's Use of Brokerage, Cohesion, and Embeddedness," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(1), pages 49-79, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:40:y:2016:i:1:p:49-79
    DOI: 10.1111/etap.12103
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/etap.12103
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/etap.12103?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elfring, Tom & Hulsink, Willem, 2003. "Networks in Entrepreneurship: The Case of High-Technology Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 409-422, December.
    2. Garnsey, Elizabeth, 1998. "A Theory of the Early Growth of the Firm," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 7(3), pages 523-556, September.
    3. Sutter, Matthias & Kocher, Martin G., 2007. "Trust and trustworthiness across different age groups," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 364-382, May.
    4. Lockett, Andy & Wright, Mike, 2001. "The syndication of venture capital investments," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 375-390, October.
    5. Greif, Avner, 1989. "Reputation and Coalitions in Medieval Trade: Evidence on the Maghribi Traders," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 857-882, December.
    6. Bruderl, Josef & Preisendorfer, Peter, 1998. "Network Support and the Success of Newly Founded Businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 213-225, May.
    7. Hoang, Ha & Antoncic, Bostjan, 2003. "Network-based research in entrepreneurship: A critical review," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 165-187, March.
    8. Sarah L. Jack, 2005. "The Role, Use and Activation of Strong and Weak Network Ties: A Qualitative Analysis," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(6), pages 1233-1259, September.
    9. Stam, Wouter & Arzlanian, Souren & Elfring, Tom, 2014. "Social capital of entrepreneurs and small firm performance: A meta-analysis of contextual and methodological moderators," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 152-173.
    10. Peter Moran, 2005. "Structural vs. relational embeddedness: social capital and managerial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(12), pages 1129-1151, December.
    11. Bat Batjargal, 2007. "Network triads: transitivity, referral and venture capital decisions in China and Russia," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(6), pages 998-1012, November.
    12. Arent Greve & Janet W. Salaff, 2003. "Social Networks and Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(1), pages 1-22, January.
    13. Paul D. Reynolds & Nancy M. Carter & William B. Gartner & Patricia G. Greene, 2004. "The Prevalence of Nascent Entrepreneurs in the United States: Evidence from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 263-284, November.
    14. James Moody & Douglas R. White, 2000. "Structural Cohesion and Embeddedness: A Hierarchical Conception of Social Groups," Working Papers 00-08-049, Santa Fe Institute.
    15. Bill McEvily & Vincenzo Perrone & Akbar Zaheer, 2003. "Trust as an Organizing Principle," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 91-103, February.
    16. Bates, Timothy, 1997. "Financing small business creation: The case of Chinese and Korean immigrant entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 109-124, March.
    17. Christian Lechner & Michael Dowling, 2003. "Firm networks: external relationships as sources for the growth and competitiveness of entrepreneurial firms," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 1-26, January.
    18. M. Ann McFadyen & Matthew Semadeni & Albert A. Cannella, 2009. "Value of Strong Ties to Disconnected Others: Examining Knowledge Creation in Biomedicine," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 552-564, June.
    19. Zhao, Liming & Aram, John D., 1995. "Networking and growth of young technology-intensive ventures in China," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 349-370, September.
    20. Howard E. Aldrich & Martha Argelia Martinez, 2001. "Many are Called, but Few are Chosen: An Evolutionary Perspective for the Study of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 41-56, July.
    21. Bhagavatula, Suresh & Elfring, Tom & van Tilburg, Aad & van de Bunt, Gerhard G., 2010. "How social and human capital influence opportunity recognition and resource mobilization in India's handloom industry," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 245-260, May.
    22. Gordon Tullock, 1985. "Adam Smith and the Prisoners' Dilemma," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 100(Supplemen), pages 1073-1081.
    23. Eric Gedajlovic & Benson Honig & Curt B. Moore & G. Tyge Payne & Mike Wright, 2013. "Social Capital and Entrepreneurship: A Schema and Research Agenda," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(3), pages 455-478, May.
    24. Davidsson, Per & Honig, Benson, 2003. "The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 301-331, May.
    25. Nancy Buchan & Rachel Croson, 1999. "Gender and Culture: International Experimental Evidence from Trust Games," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 386-391, May.
    26. Ray Reagans & Ezra W. Zuckerman, 2001. "Networks, Diversity, and Productivity: The Social Capital of Corporate R&D Teams," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(4), pages 502-517, August.
    27. Xing Zhong & Salih Zeki Ozdemir, 2010. "Structure, learning, and the speed of innovating: a two-phase model of collective innovation using agent based modeling," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(5), pages 1459-1492, October.
    28. Kim, Phillip H. & Aldrich, Howard E., 2005. "Social Capital and Entrepreneurship," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 1(2), pages 55-104, June.
    29. Julie M. Hite, 2005. "Evolutionary Processes and Paths of Relationally Embedded Network Ties in Emerging Entrepreneurial Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(1), pages 113-144, January.
    30. Balagopal Vissa, 2012. "Agency in Action: Entrepreneurs' Networking Style and Initiation of Economic Exchange," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 492-510, April.
    31. Herminia Ibarra & Martin Kilduff & Wenpin Tsai, 2005. "Zooming In and Out: Connecting Individuals and Collectivities at the Frontiers of Organizational Network Research," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 359-371, August.
    32. Jack, Sarah L. & Anderson, Alistair R., 2002. "The effects of embeddedness on the entrepreneurial process," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 467-487, September.
    33. Scott A. Boorman, 1975. "A Combinatorial Optimization Model for Transmission of Job Information through Contact Networks," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 6(1), pages 216-249, Spring.
    34. Daniel Z. Levin & Rob Cross, 2004. "The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(11), pages 1477-1490, November.
    35. Lichtenstein, Benyamin B. & Carter, Nancy M. & Dooley, Kevin J. & Gartner, William B., 2007. "Complexity dynamics of nascent entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 236-261, March.
    36. Bygrave, William D., 1987. "Syndicated investments by venture capital firms: A networking perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 139-154.
    37. Steven W. Floyd & Bill Wooldridge, 1999. "Knowledge Creation and Social Networks in Corporate Entrepreneurship: The Renewal of Organizational Capability," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 23(3), pages 123-144, April.
    38. Julie M. Hite & William S. Hesterly, 2001. "The evolution of firm networks: from emergence to early growth of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 275-286, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yashar Mansoori & Martin Lackéus, 2020. "Comparing effectuation to discovery-driven planning, prescriptive entrepreneurship, business planning, lean startup, and design thinking," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 791-818, March.
    2. Yung-Shuan Chen & Han-Sheng Lei & Wei-Che Hsu, 2019. "A Study on the Sustainable Development Strategy of Firms: Niche and Social Network Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-25, May.
    3. Ünal, Cemre & Ceasu, Ioana, 2019. "A Machine Learning Approach Towards Startup Success Prediction," IRTG 1792 Discussion Papers 2019-022, Humboldt University of Berlin, International Research Training Group 1792 "High Dimensional Nonstationary Time Series".
    4. Huiling Zhang & Yaokuang Li & Juan Wu & Li Ling, 2022. "How do the network structures of lead investors affect the following of distant strangers? Evidence from Chinese equity crowdfunding," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3516-3533, December.
    5. Butticè, Vincenzo & Croce, Annalisa & Ughetto, Elisa, 2021. "Network dynamics in business angel group investment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    6. Smith, Claudia G. & Smith, J. Brock, 2021. "Founders' uses of digital networks for resource acquisition: Extending network theory online," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 466-482.
    7. Yan Li & Weiping Chen, 2023. "Acquisition and Utilization of Chinese Peasant e-Entrepreneurs’ Online Social Capital: The Moderating Effect of Offline Social Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-16, April.
    8. Horatio M. Morgan & Sui Sui & Shavin Malhotra, 2021. "No place like home: The effect of exporting to the country of origin on the financial performance of immigrant-owned SMEs," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(3), pages 504-524, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Susanna Slotte–Kock & Nicole Coviello, 2010. "Entrepreneurship Research on Network Processes: A Review and Ways Forward," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(1), pages 31-57, January.
    2. Kerr, Jon & Coviello, Nicole, 2020. "Weaving network theory into effectuation: A multi-level reconceptualization of effectual dynamics," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2).
    3. Thorsten Semrau & Arndt Werner, 2014. "How Exactly Do Network Relationships Pay Off? The Effects of Network Size and Relationship Quality on Access to Start–Up Resources," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(3), pages 501-525, May.
    4. Christopher Hayter, 2013. "Conceptualizing knowledge-based entrepreneurship networks: perspectives from the literature," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 899-911, December.
    5. Jack, Sarah L., 2010. "Approaches to studying networks: Implications and outcomes," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 120-137, January.
    6. Jean–Luc Arregle & Bat Batjargal & Michael A. Hitt & Justin W. Webb & Toyah Miller & Anne S. Tsui, 2015. "Family Ties in Entrepreneurs’ Social Networks and New Venture Growth," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(2), pages 313-344, March.
    7. Feng-Wen Chen & Meng-Xian Lin & Ting Wang, 2018. "Sustainable Resource Acquisition Path: A Dynamic Model of Embedded Entrepreneurial Network Governance under Uncertainty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, November.
    8. Soetanto, Danny, 2019. "Examining change in entrepreneurial networks: Using visualisation as an alternative approach," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 139-150.
    9. Stam, Wouter & Arzlanian, Souren & Elfring, Tom, 2014. "Social capital of entrepreneurs and small firm performance: A meta-analysis of contextual and methodological moderators," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 152-173.
    10. Smith, Claudia G. & Smith, J. Brock, 2021. "Founders' uses of digital networks for resource acquisition: Extending network theory online," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 466-482.
    11. Justin Tan & Hongjuan Zhang & Liang Wang, 2015. "Network Closure or Structural Hole? The Conditioning Effects of Network–Level Social Capital on Innovation Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(5), pages 1189-1212, September.
    12. Diane M. Sullivan & Cameron M. Ford, 2014. "How Entrepreneurs use Networks to Address Changing Resource Requirements during Early Venture Development," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(3), pages 551-574, May.
    13. Thorsten Semrau & Christian Hopp, 2016. "Complementary or compensatory? A contingency perspective on how entrepreneurs’ human and social capital interact in shaping start-up progress," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 407-423, March.
    14. Smith, Claudia & Smith, J. Brock & Shaw, Eleanor, 2017. "Embracing digital networks: Entrepreneurs' social capital online," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 18-34.
    15. Smith, Delmonize A. & Lohrke, Franz T., 2008. "Entrepreneurial network development: Trusting in the process," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 315-322, April.
    16. Elvin Afandi & Majid Kermani & Fuad Mammadov, 2017. "Social capital and entrepreneurial process," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 685-716, September.
    17. Thommie Burström & Jussi Harri & Timothy. L. Wilson, 2018. "Nascent Entrepreneurs Managing in Networks: Equivocality, Multiplexity and Tie Formation," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 26(01), pages 51-83, March.
    18. Johannes Kleinhempel & Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Mariko J. Klasing, 2022. "The Changing Role of Social Capital During the Venture Creation Process: A Multilevel Study," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(2), pages 297-330, March.
    19. Yang Song & Leo Paul Dana & Ron Berger, 2021. "The entrepreneurial process and online social networks: forecasting survival rate," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1171-1190, February.
    20. Xiaoyu Yu & Yida Tao & Yi Chen & Weiyong Zhang & Pinglei Xu, 2019. "Social networks and online store performance in emerging economies: the mediating effect of legitimacy," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 29(2), pages 201-218, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:40:y:2016:i:1:p:49-79. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.