IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/ujbmxx/v50y2012i2p257-282.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Networks in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprise Innovation and Firm Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Sarel Gronum
  • Martie‐louise Verreynne
  • Tim Kastelle

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to understand the contribution of networks to innovation and firm performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Based on longitudinal data from 1,435 SMEs, we show that strong, heterogeneous ties improve innovation in SMEs. However, the connections between network ties and firm performance are more complex than previously thought, as the positive association is mediated by innovation. Consequently, SMEs should only concentrate on cultivating and maintaining networks if they lead directly to improvements in innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarel Gronum & Martie‐louise Verreynne & Tim Kastelle, 2012. "The Role of Networks in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprise Innovation and Firm Performance," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 257-282, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ujbmxx:v:50:y:2012:i:2:p:257-282
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-627X.2012.00353.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.1540-627X.2012.00353.x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-627X.2012.00353.x?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.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brea, Edgar & Ford, Jerad A., 2023. "No silver bullet: Cognitive technology does not lead to novelty in all firms," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    2. Nguyen, Tam & Verreynne, Martie-Louise & Steen, John & Torres de Oliveira, Rui, 2023. "Government support versus international knowledge: Investigating innovations from emerging-market small and medium enterprises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    3. Espasandín-Bustelo, Francisco & Rufino-Rus, José Ignacio & Rodríguez-Serrano, M. Ángeles, 2023. "Innovation and performance in social economy enterprises: The mediating effect of legitimacy for customers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Cisneros, Luis & Deschamps, Bérangère & Chirita, Gabriel M. & Geindre, Sébastien, 2022. "Successful family firm succession: Transferring external social capital to a shared-leadership team of siblings," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3).
    5. Hugo Pinto & Jorge André Guerreiro & Manuel Fernández-Esquinas, 2023. "Sources of knowledge in the firm: a review on influential, internal and contextual factors in innovation dynamics," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 1-32, February.
    6. Nicola Del Sarto & Giulio Ferrigno & Vinit Parida & Alberto Minin, 2023. "Do start-ups benefit from coworking spaces? An empirical analysis of accelerators’ programs," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(7), pages 2471-2502, October.
    7. Ma, Yonghong & Li, Baoxiang, 2022. "Effect of digitalization on knowledge transfer from universities to enterprises: Evidence from postdoctoral workstation of Chinese enterprises," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:ujbmxx:v:50:y:2012:i:2:p:257-282. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/ujbm .

    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.