IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v9y2019i3p2158244019870191.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do Industrial Clusters Still Matter to Trust-Building in the Internet Era? A Network Embeddedness Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Wanyue Wei
  • Zheng He
  • Lez Rayman-Bacchus
  • GuangMing Xiang

Abstract

Despite the considerable amount of research regarding trust as one of the most important characters and competitive advantages for an industrial cluster, few empirical studies have examined whether geographic proximity still leads to higher levels of trust in the current Internet era. This article explores this issue of trust from a network embeddedness perspective. Based on the data from Zhongshan gas appliance cluster, we employ structural equation modeling to examine the extent to which relational embeddedness, structural embeddedness, and positional embeddedness have any impact on trust-building in the cluster. Our findings reveal that high clique trust and low aggregate trust coexist in the cluster, showing that the effect of geographical proximity on trust has been weakened and is no longer a sufficient condition for trust-building. This study also gives some suggestions on how to improve the trust within a cluster through network governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Wanyue Wei & Zheng He & Lez Rayman-Bacchus & GuangMing Xiang, 2019. "Do Industrial Clusters Still Matter to Trust-Building in the Internet Era? A Network Embeddedness Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:9:y:2019:i:3:p:2158244019870191
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244019870191
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244019870191
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2158244019870191?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. Guo, Ying & Rammal, Hussain G. & Benson, John & Zhu, Ying & Dowling, Peter J., 2018. "Interpersonal relations in China: Expatriates’ perspective on the development and use of guanxi," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 455-464.
    2. Chandna, Vallari & Salimath, Manjula S., 2018. "Peer-to-peer selling in online platforms: A salient business model for virtual entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 162-174.
    3. Bill McEvily, 2011. "Reorganizing the Boundaries of Trust: From Discrete Alternatives to Hybrid Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1266-1276, October.
    4. Charles Dhanaraj & Marjorie A Lyles & H Kevin Steensma & Laszlo Tihanyi, 2004. "Managing tacit and explicit knowledge transfer in IJVs: the role of relational embeddedness and the impact on performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(5), pages 428-442, September.
    5. James H. Davis & F. David Schoorman & Roger C. Mayer & Hwee Hoon Tan, 2000. "The trusted general manager and business unit performance: empirical evidence of a competitive advantage," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 563-576, May.
    6. Wu, Jie & Wu, Zefu & Si, Steven, 2016. "The influences of Internet-based collaboration and intimate interactions in buyer–supplier relationship on product innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3780-3787.
    7. 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.
    8. Yibo Lyu & Quanshan Liu & Binyuan He & Jingfei Nie, 2017. "Structural embeddedness and innovation diffusion: the moderating role of industrial technology grouping," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(2), pages 889-916, May.
    9. Fatemeh S. Shahmehr & Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Khaksar & Reza Zaefarian & Kambiz Talebi, 2015. "How relational embeddedness affects business performance through trust: empirical research on emerging SMEs," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 26(1), pages 61-77.
    10. Dan J. Kim & Donald L. Ferrin & H. Raghav Rao, 2009. "Trust and Satisfaction, Two Stepping Stones for Successful E-Commerce Relationships: A Longitudinal Exploration," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 237-257, June.
    11. Elisa Salvador & Ilaria Mariotti & Fabrizio Conicella, 2013. "Science Park or Innovation Cluster?" Similarities and differences in physical and virtual firms' agglomeration phenomena," Post-Print hal-02273841, HAL.
    12. Moriuchi, Emi & Takahashi, Ikuo, 2018. "An empirical investigation of the factors motivating Japanese repeat consumers to review their shopping experiences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 381-390.
    13. Li, Yongqiang & Wang, Xuehua & Huang, Lily & Bai, Xuan, 2013. "How does entrepreneurs' social capital hinder new business development? A relational embeddedness perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(12), pages 2418-2424.
    14. Ranjay Gulati & Nitin Nohria & Akbar Zaheer, 2000. "Guest editors’ introduction to the special issue: strategic networks," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 199-201, March.
    15. Zhou, Michael & Leenders, Mark A.A.M. & Cong, Ling Mei, 2018. "Ownership in the virtual world and the implications for long-term user innovation success," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 56-65.
    16. Ebers, Mark & Maurer, Indre, 2014. "Connections count: How relational embeddedness and relational empowerment foster absorptive capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 318-332.
    17. Eng, Teck-Yong, 2004. "Implications of the Internet for Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in Clusters of Hi-tech Firms," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 87-98, February.
    18. Bo Wang & Becky P. Y. Loo, 2017. "Hubs of Internet Entrepreneurs: The Emergence of Co-working Offices in Shanghai, China," Journal of Urban Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 67-84, July.
    19. Andrea Monika Herrmann & Janne Louise Taks & Ellen Moors, 2012. "Beyond Regional Clusters: On the Importance of Geographical Proximity for R&D Collaborations in a Global Economy—the Case of the Flemish Biotech Sector," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(6), pages 499-516, August.
    20. Silva, Graça Miranda & Gonçalves, Helena Martins, 2016. "Causal recipes for customer loyalty to travel agencies: Differences between online and offline customers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 5512-5518.
    21. Ruiz-Ortega, María J. & García-Villaverde, Pedro M. & Parra-Requena, Gloria, 2018. "How structural embeddedness leads to pioneering orientation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 186-198.
    22. Meuleman, Miguel & Wright, Mike, 2011. "Cross-border private equity syndication: Institutional context and learning," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 35-48, January.
    23. Nilsson, Magnus & Mattes, Jannika, 2015. "The spatiality of trust: Factors influencing the creation of trust and the role of face-to-face contacts," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 230-244.
    24. Marius Goldberg & Axel Kieninger & Gerhard Satzger & Hansjörg Fromm, 2017. "Retained Organizations in IT Outsourcing," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 59(2), pages 111-124, April.
    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. Xu Chen & Chunhong Liu & Yao Jiang & Changchun Gao, 2021. "What Causes the Virtual Agglomeration of Creative Industries?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Xu Chen & Chunhong Liu & Changchun Gao & Yao Jiang, 2021. "Mechanism Underlying the Formation of Virtual Agglomeration of Creative Industries: Theoretical Analysis and Empirical Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Telma Mendes & Carina Silva & Alexandra Braga, 2023. "Dancing with Giants: A Unified Framework for Cooperation Networks, Speed of Internationalisation, and Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-32, January.

    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. Judit Oláh & Yusmar Ardhi Hidayat & Zdzisława Dacko-Pikiewicz & Morshadul Hasan & József Popp, 2021. "Inter-Organizational Trust on Financial Performance: Proposing Innovation as a Mediating Variable to Sustain in a Disruptive Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, September.
    2. Haoyang Song & Ruixu Chen & Xiucai Yang & Jianhua Hou, 2024. "How Does the Innovation Openness of China’s Sci-Tech Innovation Enterprises Support Innovation Quality: The Mediation Role of Structural Embeddedness," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Pan, Mengyang & Hill, James & Blount, Ian & Rungtusanatham, Manus, 2022. "Relationship building and minority business growth: Does participating in activities sponsored by institutional intermediaries help?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 830-843.
    4. Doornich, June Borge, 2018. "Managerial learning from social capital during internationalization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 877-892.
    5. Meng Zhang & Yong Qi, 2023. "Vertical Network Relationships, Technological Capabilities, and Innovation Performance: The Moderating Role of Strategic Flexibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-15, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Tu LYU & Xiangfeng JI, 2020. "A Meta-Analysis on the Impact of Social Capital on Firm Performance in China’s Transition Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Shi, Jing & Wang, Jiajie & Kang, Lele & Sun, Jianjun, 2023. "How to poach the talents? Role of social capital and contextual knowledge base," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    9. Yuliani Suseno & Chris Rowley, 2018. "Taking stock of social capital research: its application in service-oriented firms," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 138-149, March.
    10. Presutti, Manuela & Boari, Cristina & Fratocchi, Luciano, 2016. "The evolution of inter-organisational social capital with foreign customers: Its direct and interactive effects on SMEs’ foreign performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(5), pages 760-773.
    11. Weber, Clarissa E. & Maurer, Indre, 2023. "Knowledge acquisition from host-country partners: The interplay of trust and legal safeguards," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    12. Khan, Zaheer & Lew, Yong Kyu & Marinova, Svetla, 2019. "Exploitative and exploratory innovations in emerging economies: The role of realized absorptive capacity and learning intent," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 499-512.
    13. Lyu, Yibo & He, Binyuan & Zhu, Yuqing & Li, Li, 2019. "Network embeddedness and inbound open innovation practice: The moderating role of technology cluster," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 12-24.
    14. Maimunah Ismail & Sayang Syamira Sobri & Nurul Afiqah Zulkifly & Siti Raba'ah Hamzah & Eriko Yamato, 2016. "Knowledge Transfer Between Expatriates And Host Country Nationals: Contribution Of Individual And Social Capital Factors," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 7(2).
    15. Jarle Aarstad & Olav Andreas Kvitastein & Stig-Erik Jakobsen, 2019. "What Drives Enterprise Product Innovation? Assessing How Regional, National, And International Inter-Firm Collaboration Complement Or Substitute For R&D Investments," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(05), pages 1-25, June.
    16. Najafi-Tavani, Zhaleh & Giroud, Axèle & Andersson, Ulf, 2014. "The interplay of networking activities and internal knowledge actions for subsidiary influence within MNCs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 122-131.
    17. Wei He & Chenyuan Jin, 2024. "A study on the influence of the characteristics of key opinion leaders on consumers’ purchase intention in live streaming commerce: based on dual-systems theory," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 1235-1265, June.
    18. Yadong Luo & Huan Zhang & Juan Bu, 2019. "Developed country MNEs investing in developing economies: Progress and prospect," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(4), pages 633-667, June.
    19. Battaglia, Daniele & Landoni, Paolo & Rizzitelli, Francesco, 2017. "Organizational structures for external growth of University Technology Transfer Offices: An explorative analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 45-56.
    20. Xuan Liu & Meimei Chen & Jia Li & Ling Ma, 2019. "How to Manage Diversity and Enhance Team Performance: Evidence from Online Doctor Teams in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, December.

    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:sagope:v:9:y:2019:i:3:p:2158244019870191. 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.