How to Occupy Structural Holes and Sustain Positional Advantage:A Simulation Study on Knowledge Disclosure in R&D Collaboration Networks
The more, the better. This conventional wisdom stands opposed to the proverb: A friend to all is a friend to none. Filling the discrepancy between these two wisdoms seems to be critical in guiding a firm on how to collaborate in networks such as alliances or joint R&Ds. The structural hole theory views the network as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to exploit by seeking partners that are unique or non-redundant and bring new information. By assuming reciprocity among the nodes, previous studies on networks have argued that the more links and structural holes that a firm occupied, the better its performance. However, the existence of links itself does not guarantee reciprocal relationships. We should consider the properties of links among nodes. Also many research concerning structural holes and social capital dont ask how a firm can occupy a central position, i. e. a brokerage that spans many structural holes, within innovative networks. In this paper, I challenge the reciprocity assumption and answer the following question, How to acquire a central position within a network and sustain its positional advantage? I propose a simulation model aimed at describing the emergence and the dynamics of innovative networks, with particular emphasis on the role of knowledge disclosure. This study contributes to integrating the research on structural embeddedness and relational embedded-ness. Results show the importance of reciprocal trust in a collaborative network.
Structural Hole Positional Advantage Knowledge Disclosure R&D Network
Namgyoo Kenny Park Jinsung Kim
Seoul National University,Korea
国际会议
Academy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2008(创新与创业国际学术会议)
北京
英文
7-15
2008-03-01（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）