IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v31y2022i5s096959312200018x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Historical social network analysis: Advancing new directions for international business research

Author

Listed:
  • Buchnea, Emily
  • Elsahn, Ziad

Abstract

Despite repeated calls for incorporating history in IB research, progress has been slow. The few existing IB studies utilizing historical approaches have relied mostly on historical narrative approaches. In addition, there is little methodological guidance on how to use historical methodologies in IB research. This article will highlight a growing methodological approach for consideration, one that demonstrates intersections across multiple disciplines through use of varied techniques, historical analysis and social network analysis (SNA) and source-bases (varied archival sources). This study will demonstrate the richness obtained from utilising historical source collections and the additional perspectives on transnational networks that can be obtained from analysing networks over longer periods. Specifically, we argue that the use of historical mixed methods SNA is suitable in addressing calls for contextual, longitudinal, multilevel, and processual explanations of IB phenomena.

Suggested Citation

  • Buchnea, Emily & Elsahn, Ziad, 2022. "Historical social network analysis: Advancing new directions for international business research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:31:y:2022:i:5:s096959312200018x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2022.101990
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096959312200018X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2022.101990?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Manev, Ivan M., 2003. "The managerial network in a multinational enterprise and the resource profiles of subsidiaries," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 133-151.
    2. Khan, Zaheer & Rao-Nicholson, Rekha & Tarba, Shlomo Y., 2018. "Global networks as a mode of balance for exploratory innovations in a late liberalizing economy," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 392-402.
    3. Dachs, Bernhard & Kinkel, Steffen & Jäger, Angela, 2019. "Bringing it all back home? Backshoring of manufacturing activities and the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(6), pages 1-1.
    4. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 2009. "The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(9), pages 1411-1431, December.
    5. Maclean, Mairi & Harvey, Charles & Clegg, Stewart R., 2017. "Organization Theory in Business and Management History: Present Status and Future Prospects," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 91(3), pages 457-481, October.
    6. Song Wang & Bowen Dong & Steven X. Si & Junsheng Dou, 2017. "When it rains, it pours: A triple-pathway model of collective turnover based on causal mapping analysis," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 461-486, June.
    7. Pedersen, Torben & Soda, Giuseppe & Stea, Diego, 2019. "Globally networked: Intraorganizational boundary spanning in the global organization," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 169-180.
    8. Bo Bernhard Nielsen & Catherine Welch & Agnieszka Chidlow & Stewart Robert Miller & Roberta Aguzzoli & Emma Gardner & Maria Karafyllia & Diletta Pegoraro, 2020. "Fifty years of methodological trends in JIBS: Why future IB research needs more triangulation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(9), pages 1478-1499, December.
    9. Viacheslav Iurkov & Gabriel R G Benito, 2020. "Change in domestic network centrality, uncertainty, and the foreign divestment decisions of firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(5), pages 788-812, July.
    10. repec:ucp:bkecon:9781846318177 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. repec:taf:bushst:v:57:y:2015:i:1:p:181-201 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Ilya R. P. Cuypers & Gokhan Ertug & John Cantwell & Akbar Zaheer & Martin Kilduff, 2020. "Making connections: Social networks in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(5), pages 714-736, July.
    13. Andrew Popp & Robin Holt, 2013. "The presence of entrepreneurial opportunity," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(1), pages 9-28, January.
    14. Colin Divall, 2012. "Business history, global networks and the future of mobility," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(4), pages 542-555, April.
    15. Haggerty, John & Haggerty, Sheryllynne, 2017. "Networking with a Network: The Liverpool African Committee 1750–1810," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(3), pages 566-590, September.
    16. Desirée Blankenburg Holm & Kent Eriksson & Jan Johanson, 1996. "Business Networks and Cooperation in International Business Relationships," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(4), pages 1033-1053, December.
    17. Ziad F. Elsahn & Maureen Benson-Rea, 2018. "Political Schemas and Corporate Political Activities During Foreign Market Entry: A Micro-process Perspective," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(5), pages 771-811, October.
    18. John F. Wilson & Andrew Popp, 2003. "Business networking in the industrial revolution: some comments," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 56(2), pages 355-361, May.
    19. Michele Bernini & Jun Du & James H. Love, 2016. "Explaining intermittent exporting: Exit and conditional re-entry in export markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(9), pages 1058-1076, December.
    20. de Jong, Abe & Röell, Ailsa & Westerhuis, Gerarda, 2010. "Changing National Business Systems: Corporate Governance and Financing in the Netherlands, 1945–2005," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 84(4), pages 773-798, January.
    21. Desirée Blankenburg Holm & Kent Eriksson & Jan Johanson, 1996. "Business Networks and Cooperation in International Business Relationships," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(5), pages 1033-1053, December.
    22. Gustavo A. Del Angel, 2016. "The nexus between business groups and banks: Mexico, 1932-1982," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(1), pages 111-128, January.
    23. Marian V Jones & Nicole E Coviello, 2005. "Internationalisation: conceptualising an entrepreneurial process of behaviour in time," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(3), pages 284-303, May.
    24. Robert A Burgelman, 2011. "Bridging history and reductionism: A key role for longitudinal qualitative research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 42(5), pages 591-601, June.
    25. Jacqueline Mees-Buss & Catherine Welch & D. Eleanor Westney, 2019. "What happened to the transnational? The emergence of the neo-global corporation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1513-1543, December.
    26. Edmond Smith, 2018. "The global interests of London's commercial community, 1599–1625: investment in the East India Company," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(4), pages 1118-1146, November.
    27. Nicole E Coviello, 2006. "The network dynamics of international new ventures," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(5), pages 713-731, September.
    28. Ekaterina Turkina & Ari Van Assche, 2018. "Global Connectedness and Local Innovation in Industrial Clusters," CIRANO Working Papers 2018s-12, CIRANO.
    29. Thomas Hutzschenreuter & Torben Pedersen & Henk W Volberda, 2007. "The role of path dependency and managerial intentionality: a perspective on international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(7), pages 1055-1068, December.
    30. Johann Fortwengel, 2021. "The formation of an MNE identity over the course of internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1069-1095, August.
    31. Marzagalli, Silvia, 2005. "Establishing Transatlantic Trade Networks in Time of War: Bordeaux and the United States, 1793–1815," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(4), pages 811-844, January.
    32. Leila Hurmerinta-Peltomäki & Niina Nummela, 2006. "Mixed methods in international business research: A value-added perspective," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 439-459, August.
    33. James E. Rauch, 2001. "Business and Social Networks in International Trade," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1177-1203, December.
    34. Haggerty, John & Haggerty, Sheryllynne, 2010. "Visual Analytics of an Eighteenth-Century Business Network," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, March.
    35. Teresa da Silva Lopes & Mark Casson & Geoffrey Jones, 2019. "Organizational innovation in the multinational enterprise: Internalization theory and business history," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1338-1358, October.
    36. Musteen, Martina & Francis, John & Datta, Deepak K., 2010. "The influence of international networks on internationalization speed and performance: A study of Czech SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 197-205, July.
    37. Cheung, Zeerim & Aalto, Eero & Nevalainen, Pasi, 2020. "Institutional Logics and the Internationalization of a State-Owned Enterprise: Evaluation of International Venture Opportunities by Telecom Finland 1987–1998," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(6).
    38. Ekaterina Turkina & Ari Van Assche, 2018. "Global connectedness and local innovation in industrial clusters," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(6), pages 706-728, August.
    39. Haggerty, John & Haggerty, Sheryllynne, 2011. "The life cycle of a metropolitan business network: Liverpool 1750-1810," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 189-206, April.
    40. Welch, Catherine & Piekkari, Rebecca, 2017. "How should we (not) judge the ‘quality’ of qualitative research? A re-assessment of current evaluative criteria in International Business," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 714-725.
    41. Buchnea, Emily, 2020. "Bridges and Bonds: The Role of British Merchant Bank Intermediaries in Latin American Trade and Finance Networks, 1825–1850," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 453-493, June.
    42. Vicky Bamiatzi & Konstantinos Bozos & Konstantinos Nikolopoulos, 2010. "On the predictability of firm performance via simple time-series and econometric models: evidence from UK SMEs," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 279-282, February.
    43. Sultana, Nasrin & Turkina, Ekaterina, 2020. "Foreign direct investment, technological advancement, and absorptive capacity: A network analysis," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    44. Kurt, Yusuf & Kurt, Mustafa, 2020. "Social network analysis in international business research: An assessment of the current state of play and future research directions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    45. Wright, Claire & Ville, Simon & Merrett, David, 2019. "Quotidian Routines: The Cooperative Practices of a Business Elite," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 826-860, December.
    46. Kedia, Ben L. & Bilgili, Tsvetomira V., 2015. "When history matters: The effect of historical ties on the relationship between institutional distance and shares acquired," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 921-934.
    47. Scott, John, 1997. "Corporate Business and Capitalist Classes," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198280767.
    48. Nealia S Bruning & Karan Sonpar & Xiaoyun Wang, 2012. "Host-country national networks and expatriate effectiveness: A mixed-methods study," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(4), pages 444-450, May.
    49. Hatani, Faith & McGaughey, Sara L., 2013. "Network cohesion in global expansion: An evolutionary view," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 455-465.
    50. Irina Surdu & Kamel Mellahi & Keith W Glaister, 2019. "Once bitten, not necessarily shy? Determinants of foreign market re-entry commitment strategies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(3), pages 393-422, April.
    51. Nicole Coviello & Martin Cox, 2006. "The resource dynamics of international new venture networks," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 113-132, September.
    52. Dimitratos, Pavlos & Liouka, Ioanna & Young, Stephen, 2009. "Regional location of multinational corporation subsidiaries and economic development contribution: Evidence from the UK," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 180-191, April.
    53. Herman Aguinis & Jeffrey R. Edwards, 2014. "Methodological Wishes for the Next Decade and How to Make Wishes Come True," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 143-174, January.
    54. Geoffrey Jones & Tarun Khanna, 2006. "Bringing history (back) into international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(4), pages 453-468, July.
    55. Michael Aldous, 2017. "Rehabilitating the intermediary: brokers and auctioneers in the nineteenth-century Anglo-Indian trade," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(4), pages 525-553, May.
    56. Pettigrew, Andrew M., 1997. "What is a processual analysis?," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 337-348, December.
    57. Stephanie Decker & Matthias Kipping & R. Daniel Wadhwani, 2015. "New business histories! Plurality in business history research methods," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 30-40, January.
    58. Philip Garnett & Simon Mollan & R. Alexander Bentley, 2015. "Complexity in history: modelling the organisational demography of the British banking sector," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 182-202, January.
    59. Burgelman, Robert A., 2011. "Bridging History and Reductionism: A Key Role for Longitudinal Qualitative Research," Research Papers 2045r, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    60. Sandberg, Susanne, 2014. "Experiential knowledge antecedents of the SME network node configuration in emerging market business networks," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 20-29.
    61. Mbalyohere, Charles & Lawton, Thomas & Boojihawon, Roshan & Viney, Howard, 2017. "Corporate political activity and location-based advantage: MNE responses to institutional transformation in Uganda’s electricity industry," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(6), pages 743-759.
    62. Mats Forsgren, 2016. "A note on the revisited Uppsala internationalization process model – the implications of business networks and entrepreneurship," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(9), pages 1135-1144, December.
    63. Peter Clark & Michael Rowlinson, 2004. "The Treatment of History in Organisation Studies: Towards an 'Historic Turn'?," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 331-352.
    64. Albane Forestier, 2010. "Risk, kinship and personal relationships in late eighteenth-century West Indian trade: The commercial network of Tobin & Pinney," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(6), pages 912-931.
    65. �lvaro Ferreira da Silva & Luciano Amaral & Pedro Neves, 2016. "Business groups in Portugal in the Estado Novo period (1930-1974): family, power and structural change," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(1), pages 49-68, January.
    66. Michele Bernini & Jun Du & James H. Love, 2016. "Explaining intermittent exporting: Exit and conditional re-entry in export markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(9), pages 1151-1151, December.
    67. Hancock, David, 2005. "The Trouble with Networks: Managing the Scots' Early-Modern Madeira Trade," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(3), pages 467-491, October.
    68. Chetty, Sylvie & Blankenburg Holm, Desiree, 2000. "Internationalisation of small to medium-sized manufacturing firms: a network approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 77-93, February.
    69. Halinen, Aino & Törnroos, Jan-Åke, 1998. "The role of embeddedness in the evolution of business networks," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 187-205, 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. Elsahn, Ziad & Earl, Anna, 2022. "Alternative ways of studying time in qualitative international business research: A review and future agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3).
    2. Louise Curran & Carlos Carrasco-Farré, 2024. "Leveraging natural language processing techniques to explore the potential impact of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(2), pages 181-202, June.

    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. Ilya R. P. Cuypers & Gokhan Ertug & John Cantwell & Akbar Zaheer & Martin Kilduff, 2020. "Making connections: Social networks in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(5), pages 714-736, July.
    2. Jan Johanson & Martin Johanson, 2021. "Speed and synchronization in foreign market network entry: A note on the revisited Uppsala model," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(8), pages 1628-1645, October.
    3. Niittymies, Aleksi & Pajunen, Kalle & Lamberg, Juha-Antti, 2022. "Temporality and firm de-internationalization: Three historical approaches," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(6).
    4. Decker, Stephanie, 2022. "Introducing the eventful temporality of historical research into international business," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(6).
    5. Ilya R. P. Cuypers & Gokhan Ertug & John Cantwell & Akbar Zaheer & Martin Kilduff, 0. "Making connections: Social networks in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 0, pages 1-23.
    6. Han, Xiaomin & Goxe, François & Freeman, Susan, 2024. "Internationalization through social networks: A systematic review and future research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(4).
    7. Hoorani, Bareerah Hafeez & Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella & Gibbert, Michael, 2023. "Understanding time in qualitative international business research: Towards four styles of temporal theorizing," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(1).
    8. Lindstrand, Angelika & Hånell, Sara Melén, 2017. "International and market-specific social capital effects on international opportunity exploitation in the internationalization process," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 653-663.
    9. Keith D. Brouthers & Liang Chen & Sali Li & Noman Shaheer, 2022. "Charting new courses to enter foreign markets: Conceptualization, theoretical framework, and research directions on non-traditional entry modes," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2088-2115, December.
    10. Kurt, Yusuf & Kurt, Mustafa, 2020. "Social network analysis in international business research: An assessment of the current state of play and future research directions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    11. Mikael Hilmersson & Roger Schweizer & Sylvie Chetty, 2022. "The Relationship Between Timing, Speed, and Performance in Foreign Market Network Entry," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 325-349, June.
    12. Peter J. Buckley, 2016. "Historical Research Approaches to the Analysis of Internationalisation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 879-900, December.
    13. Goxe, François & Mayrhofer, Ulrike & Kuivalainen, Olli, 2022. "Argonauts and Icaruses: Social networks and dynamics of nascent international entrepreneurs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1).
    14. Sousa, Carlos M.P. & He, Xinming & Lengler, Jorge & Tang, Linhan, 2021. "Foreign market re-entry: A review and future research directions," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2).
    15. Ganotakis, Panagiotis & Konara, Palitha & Kafouros, Mario & Love, James H., 2022. "Taking a time-out from exporting: Implications for the likelihood of export re-entry and re-entry export performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    16. Elsahn, Ziad & Earl, Anna, 2022. "Alternative ways of studying time in qualitative international business research: A review and future agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3).
    17. Desirée Blankenburg Holm & Martin Johanson & Pao Kao, 2015. "From outsider to insider: Opportunity development in foreign market networks," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 337-359, September.
    18. John P Berns & Maria Gondo & Christian Sellar, 2021. "Whole country-of-origin network development abroad," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(3), pages 479-503, April.
    19. Mats Forsgren & Ulf Holm, 2021. "Complementing the Uppsala model? A commentary on Treviño and Doh’s paper “Internationalization of the firm: A discourse-based view”," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(7), pages 1407-1416, September.
    20. Caterina Moschieri & Maria Fernandez-Moya, 2022. "A dynamic long-term approach to internationalization: Spanish publishing firms’ expansion and emigrants in Mexico (1939–1977)," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(5), pages 818-849, July.

    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:eee:iburev:v:31:y:2022:i:5:s096959312200018x. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    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.