Aggressive or not aggressive: the different role of ego-network dynamics and density in the international network

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to explore the effect of competitive aggressiveness on firm performance and the moderating effect of firm 2019s ego-network structures in the international coopetition network.Design/methodology/approachFrom the perspective of strong cooperation of the global automobile industry in recent years, this study uses the global automobile firms in Factiva database as samples to test hypotheses using the least squares dummy variable (LSDV) model.FindingsThis study finds that there is different relationship between the number and variety of competitive actions and firm performance. In addition, ego-network structures have different coefficients for the number and variety of competitive actions.Originality/valueThe conclusions provide theoretical support and policy suggestions for firms to develop effective competitive strategies according to ego-network structures in the international coopetition network.

Uncovering the impact of technology convergence on innovation quality: From the perspective of ego‐network dynamics pathway

“…Excessive RTC allows firms to absorb partner knowledge more quickly for collaboration purposes, resulting in a decreasing attractiveness of existing partnerships and network defense tactics by partners, ultimately leaving less stable ego-networks. In short, we did not follow the convention that treats network dynamics as a contextual factor (Feiyang et al, 2022;Guan et al, 2022) networks (Argyres et al, 2020;Nan, 2023), we turn our attention to the laws of inventor ties formation that affect the flow of knowledge and resources, which facilitates us to explain the search tendency in convergence. When combined with higher assortativity, the effects of NTC on innovation quality and ego-network expansion are attenuated.…”

“…Second, due to data availability, we focused only on the mediating role of inter-organizational R&D alliance network. According to some scholars (Guan et al, 2022;Kumar & Zaheer, 2019), the effect of the ego-network dynamics constituted by other forms of collaboration (e.g., joint ventures and standard cooperations) could be further explored. Finally, we investigated the contingent effects of the characteristics of only single type of intra-firm network.…”