What matters for interorganizational connectedness? : Locating the drivers of multiplex corporate networks

Research Summary Past research discovered multiple drivers of interorganizational connectivity; however, their relative importance remains a puzzle. This study generalizes known network antecedents to six dimensions of the interorganizational environment—time, industry, geography, organization, networks, and agents—and decomposes variability in dyadic corporate connectedness to find the dimensions' relative importance for board interlocks, executive migration, and alliances among the S&P 500 companies in 1997–2015. Firm-specific factors matter for all ties, industry—for alliances and executive migration, and geography—for board interlocks. Effects of time, executives, and past connections are relatively unimportant. Tie types differ in how much of their variability the analysis accounts for: while substantial part of alliance variability can be attributed to the six dimensions together, they explain much less of board interlock variability. Managerial Summary Connections between firms are important for firms and markets, but what drives connections themselves? Expansive past research suggests that nearly everything does. This study asks how much influence different factors have on whether three types of interfirm connections exist among the S&P 500 companies: alliance, board interlock, and executive migration. To answer this question, it generalizes connectivity factors into those related to time, industry, location, firm itself, its existing connections, and its top managers. Results show that different factors matter differently depending on the tie type. Thus, when managers evaluate the potential of future connections between firms in the market, connectivity factors should be considered regarding a specific connection type rather than as increasing or decreasing the chances of interfirm connections in general.