IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/asiapa/v31y2014i4p1019-1044.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How do business groups’ small world networks effect diversification, innovation, and internationalization?

Author

Listed:
  • Ying-Yu Chen
  • Yi-Long Jaw

Abstract

Small world networks which demonstrate better group cohesiveness have attracted much theoretical attention in enhancing performance and creativity in strategic management. Yet, empirical studies of the benefits that can accrue to business groups’ strategic or economic outcomes remain scarce in the business group literature. Conceptualizing the business group as an embedded group network, we investigate the previously untested role of a small world group structure on relationships with group (industrial) diversification, core firm innovation and its internationalization. We find all these have positive and significant impacts. Group diversification is also found to mediate the relationship between a small world group structure and a group’s degree of internationalization. However, a small world group structure does not directly relate to a group’s degree of internationalization. Drawing on embeddedness and social network perspectives, we find general support for the hypotheses that a small world group structure facilitates strategic and economic outcomes for groups and core firms by virtue of efficiencies in resources exchange in a way that extends the literature on business groups. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Ying-Yu Chen & Yi-Long Jaw, 2014. "How do business groups’ small world networks effect diversification, innovation, and internationalization?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 1019-1044, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:asiapa:v:31:y:2014:i:4:p:1019-1044
    DOI: 10.1007/s10490-014-9385-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10490-014-9385-9
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10490-014-9385-9?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. Tarun Khanna & Jan W. Rivkin, 2001. "Estimating the performance effects of business groups in emerging markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 45-74, January.
    2. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    3. Joel A. C. Baum & Robin Cowan & Nicolas Jonard, 2010. "Network-Independent Partner Selection and the Evolution of Innovation Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(11), pages 2094-2110, November.
    4. Martin Glaum & Michael-Jörg Oesterle, 2007. "40 years of research on internationalization and firm performance: More questions than answers?," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 307-317, June.
    5. Paul Almeida & Jaeyong Song & Robert M. Grant, 2002. "Are Firms Superior to Alliances and Markets? An Empirical Test of Cross-Border Knowledge Building," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(2), pages 147-161, April.
    6. Jacquemin, Alexis P & Berry, Charles H, 1979. "Entropy Measure of Diversification and Corporate Growth," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 359-369, June.
    7. 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.
    8. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 1991. "The Future of the Multinational Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-21204-0, December.
    9. Daniel Sullivan, 1994. "Measuring the Degree of Internationalization of a Firm," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 25(2), pages 325-342, June.
    10. Granovetter, Mark, 1995. "Coase Revisited: Business Groups in the Modern Economy," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 4(1), pages 93-130.
    11. Hicheon Kim & Robert E. Hoskisson & William P. Wan, 2004. "Power dependence, diversification strategy, and performance in keiretsu member firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(7), pages 613-636, July.
    12. Gordon Walker & Bruce Kogut & Weijian Shan, 1997. "Social Capital, Structural Holes and the Formation of an Industry Network," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 109-125, April.
    13. Victor Chen & Jing Li & Daniel Shapiro & Xiaoxiang Zhang, 2014. "Ownership structure and innovation: An emerging market perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 1-24, March.
    14. Jonathan Brookfield, 2010. "The network structure of big business in Taiwan," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 257-279, June.
    15. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 1977. "The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 8(1), pages 23-32, March.
    16. Mark Granovetter, 2005. "The Impact of Social Structure on Economic Outcomes," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 33-50, Winter.
    17. Chang, Sea Jin & Choi, Unghwan, 1988. "Strategy, Structure and Performance of Korean Business Groups: A Transactions Cost Approach," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 141-158, December.
    18. George, Rejie & Kabir, Rezaul, 2012. "Heterogeneity in business groups and the corporate diversification–firm performance relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 412-420.
    19. Lei Li & Zhiang Lin & Bindu Arya, 2008. "The turtle–hare race story revisited: Social capital and resource accumulation for firms from emerging economies," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 251-275, June.
    20. Jean, Ruey-Jer Bryan & Tan, Danchi & Sinkovics, Rudolf R., 2011. "Ethnic ties, location choice, and firm performance in foreign direct investment: A study of Taiwanese business groups FDI in China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 627-635.
    21. Tarun Khanna & Yishay Yafeh, 2007. "Business Groups in Emerging Markets: Paragons or Parasites?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 331-372, June.
    22. Choi, Suk Bong & Lee, Soo Hee & Williams, Christopher, 2011. "Ownership and firm innovation in a transition economy: Evidence from China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 441-452, April.
    23. Kannan Ramaswamy & K Galen Kroeck & William Renforth, 1996. "Measuring the Degree of Internationalization of a firm: A Comment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(1), pages 167-177, March.
    24. Prashant Kale & Harbir Singh & Howard Perlmutter, 2000. "Learning and protection of proprietary assets in strategic alliances: building relational capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 217-237, March.
    25. Peter J. Lane & Michael Lubatkin, 1998. "Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning," Post-Print hal-02311860, HAL.
    26. Sea-Jin Chang, 2006. "Business groups in East Asia: Post-crisis restructuring and new growth," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 407-417, December.
    27. John H Dunning, 1988. "The Eclectic Paradigm of International Production: A Restatement and Some Possible Extensions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(1), pages 1-31, March.
    28. Lee Fleming & Charles King & Adam I. Juda, 2007. "Small Worlds and Regional Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(6), pages 938-954, December.
    29. Benjamin M Oviatt & Patricia P McDougall, 2005. "The internationalization of entrepreneurship," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(1), pages 2-8, January.
    30. Williamson, Oliver E, 1983. "Credible Commitments: Using Hostages to Support Exchange," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(4), pages 519-540, September.
    31. Tarun Khanna & Jan W. Rivkin, 2006. "Interorganizational Ties and Business Group Boundaries: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 333-352, June.
    32. Chi‐nien Chung, 2001. "Markets, Culture and Institutions: The Emergence of Large Business Groups in Taiwan, 1950s–1970s," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 719-745, July.
    33. Michael Carney, 2008. "The many futures of Asian business groups," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 595-613, December.
    34. William S. Lovejoy & Amitabh Sinha, 2010. "Efficient Structures for Innovative Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(7), pages 1127-1145, July.
    35. Phillips McDougall, Patricia & Shane, Scott & Oviatt, Benjamin M., 1994. "Explaining the formation of international new ventures: The limits of theories from international business research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(6), pages 469-487, November.
    36. B Elango & Chinmay Pattnaik, 2007. "Building capabilities for international operations through networks: a study of Indian firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 541-555, July.
    37. Krishna Palepu, 1985. "Diversification strategy, profit performance and the entropy measure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(3), pages 239-255, July.
    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. Luis Alfonso Dau & Randall Morck & Bernard Yin Yeung, 2021. "Business groups and the study of international business: A Coasean synthesis and extension," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(2), pages 161-211, March.
    2. Wu, Lichao & Wei, Yingqi & Wang, Chengang, 2021. "Disentangling the effects of business groups in the innovation-export relationship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    3. Gupta, Parul & Chauhan, Sumedha, 2021. "Firm capabilities and export performance of small firms: A meta-analytical review," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 558-576.
    4. Aguilera, Ruth V. & Crespí-Cladera, Rafel & Infantes, Paula M. & Pascual-Fuster, Bartolomé, 2020. "Business groups and internationalization: Effective identification and future agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    5. Sunny Li Sun & Mike W. Peng & Weiqiang Tan, 2017. "Institutional relatedness behind product diversification and international diversification," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 339-366, June.
    6. Bartosz Deszczyński & Krzysztof Fonfara & Adam Dymitrowski, 2017. "The role of relationships in initiating the internationalization process in B2B markets," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 5(4), pages 91-109.
    7. Xufei Ma & Jane Wenzhen Lu, 2017. "Business group affiliation as institutional linkages in China’s emerging economy: A focus on organizational traits and institutional conditions," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 675-697, September.

    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. Tan, Danchi & Meyer, Klaus E., 2010. "Business groups' outward FDI: A managerial resources perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 154-164, June.
    2. Luis Alfonso Dau & Randall Morck & Bernard Yin Yeung, 2021. "Business groups and the study of international business: A Coasean synthesis and extension," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(2), pages 161-211, March.
    3. Aguilera, Ruth V. & Crespí-Cladera, Rafel & Infantes, Paula M. & Pascual-Fuster, Bartolomé, 2020. "Business groups and internationalization: Effective identification and future agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    4. Hsi-Mei Chung & Sven Dahms & Pao T. Kao, 2021. "Emerging Market Multinational Family Business Groups and the Use of Family Managers in Foreign Subsidiaries," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 57-89, March.
    5. Raveendra Chittoor & MB Sarkar & Sougata Ray & Preet S. Aulakh, 2009. "Third-World Copycats to Emerging Multinationals: Institutional Changes and Organizational Transformation in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 187-205, February.
    6. Gammeltoft, Peter & Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro, 2021. "Enriching internationalization process theory: insights from the study of emerging market multinationals," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(3).
    7. Buckley, Peter J. & Munjal, Surender & Enderwick, Peter & Forsans, Nicolas, 2016. "Cross-border acquisitions by Indian multinationals: Asset exploitation or asset augmentation?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 986-996.
    8. Eduardsen, Jonas & Marinova, Svetla Trifonova & González-Loureiro, Miguel & Vlačić, Božidar, 2022. "Business group affiliation and SMEs’ international sales intensity and diversification: A multi-country study," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5).
    9. Oesterle, Michael-Jörg & Richta, Hannah Noriko & Fisch, Jan Hendrik, 2013. "The influence of ownership structure on internationalization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 187-201.
    10. Borda, Armando & Geleilate, José-Mauricio G. & Newburry, William & Kundu, Sumit K., 2017. "Firm internationalization, business group diversification and firm performance: The case of Latin American firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 104-113.
    11. Johanson, Martin & Martín Martín, Oscar, 2015. "The incremental expansion of Born Internationals: A comparison of new and old Born Internationals," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 476-496.
    12. Carlos González, 2019. "Revealing a Social Dimension of Internationalization: Transnational Board Interlocks as a Social-Based Proxy for the Degree of Internationalization of the Firm," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 253-276, April.
    13. Milanov, Hana & Fernhaber, Stephanie A., 2014. "When do domestic alliances help ventures abroad? Direct and moderating effects from a learning perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 377-391.
    14. Ishtiaq Mahmood & Chi-Nien Chung & Will Mitchell, 2013. "The Evolving Impact of Combinatorial Opportunities and Exhaustion on Innovation by Business Groups as Market Development Increases: The Case of Taiwan," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1142-1161, May.
    15. Nguyen, Quyen T.K. & Kim, Sylvia, 2020. "The multinationality and performance relationship: Revisiting the literature and exploring the implications," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    16. 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).
    17. Hitt, Michael A. & Li, Dan & Xu, Kai, 2016. "International strategy: From local to global and beyond," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 58-73.
    18. Thomas Hutzschenreuter & Tanja Matt, 2017. "MNE internationalization patterns, the roles of knowledge stocks, and the portfolio of MNE subsidiaries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(9), pages 1131-1150, December.
    19. Angelika Löfgren, 2014. "International network management for the purpose of host market expansion: The mediating effect of co-innovation in the networks of SMEs," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 162-182, June.
    20. Saptarshi Purkayastha & Vikas Kumar & Jane Wenzhen Lu, 2017. "Business group heterogeneity and the internationalization-performance relationship: Evidence from Indian business groups," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 247-279, June.

    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:kap:asiapa:v:31:y:2014:i:4:p:1019-1044. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.