Reputation in organizational settings: a research agenda

Within organization theory, reputation is something we have come to associate with embeddedness research. This short paper seeks to develop a research agenda for new reputational research that draws inspiration from, but also seeks to move beyond, the embeddedness thematic

Subsidiary strategy: The embeddedness component

This paper inductively derives a model that develops the concept of subsidiary embeddedness as the canvas within which subsidiary strategy can take place. Our model identifies three hierarchical levels of embeddedness: Operational embeddedness relates to the interlocking day-to-day relations. Capability embeddedness deals with the development of competitive capabilities for the multinational as a whole. Strategic embeddedness deals with subsidiary participation in the MNC strategy setting. We deem these three types of embeddedness as ways to develop subsidiary strategic alternatives. In as such, different types of subsidiary embeddedness imply different subsidiary roles. Embeddedness, as it was inductively derived from a revelatory case study, is not merely an outcome of the institutional setting, but a resource a subsidiary can manage by means of manipulating dependencies or exerting influence over the allocation of critical resources. A subsidiary can modify its embeddedness to change its strategic restraints. Therefore, the development of subsidiary embeddedness becomes an integral part of subsidiary strategy.Multinational management; subsidiary; strategy; organization;

Networks as Emergent Structures from Bilateral Collaboration

In this paper we model the formation of innovation networks as they emerge from bilateral actions. The effectiveness of a bilateral collaboration is determined by cognitive, relational and structural embeddedness. Innovation results from the recombination of knowledge held by the partners to the collaboration, and the extent to which agents’ knowledge complement each others is an issue of cognitive embeddedness. Previous collaborations (relational embeddedness) increase the probability of a successful collaboration; as does information gained from common third parties (structural embeddedness). As a result of repeated alliance formation, a network emerges whose properties are studied, together with those of the process of knowledge creation. Two features are central to the innovation process: how agents pool their knowledge resources; and how agents derive information about potential partners. We focus on the interplay between these two dimensions, and find that they both matter. The networks that emerge are not random, but in certain parts of the parameter space have properties of small worlds. (JEL Classification: L14, Z13, O3 Keywords: Networks, Innovation, Network Formation, Knowledge)industrial organization ;

Organizational Culture and Network Embeddedness

A question that has been neglected in network research is where differences in network embeddedness come from.The network literature reveals that there are three key characteristics of embedded relationships: trust, open communication, and joint problem solving.On the basis of the sparse empirical studies of factors leading to network embeddedness, we identify organizational culture as a potentially important organizational-level factor.Building on empirical organizational culture studies we select ten dimensions of organizational culture that for theoretical and/or empirical reasons can be linked to network embeddedness, and formulate propositions concerning their effects.corporate culture;networks

The embeddedness of global production networks: The impact of crisis on Fiji's garment export sector

In this paper the author explores how changing geopolitical conditions reconfigure network embeddedness and theorises the conditions of network disconnection and transformation. Through a case study of the changes in interfirm relationships within the Fiji – Australia garment-production network after Fiji’s 2000 political coup d’état, the author develops a relational and dynamic view of embeddedness, highlighting its multifaceted and multiscalar character and emphasising the interrelationships between embeddedness, trust, and power

Does Competition Kill Ties?

Venture capital firms (VCs) form syndicates that compete to invest in deals. Does more competition makes it less likely that VCs will choose syndicate partners based on past ties? Using over 200,000 observations on how VCs choose each other in 572 biotech deals in Massachussetts from 1967 through 2004, I find the answer is: yes. The theory of embeddedness argues that past ties can explain the pattern of who works with who. I interpret my finding as a first step in demarcating when embeddedness might apply and when atomistic, calculative, economic forces might be a better explanation of who works with who.economics of sociology, embeddedness, venture capital, ties, competition

Innovation processes and industrial districts

In this survey, we examine the operations of innovation processes within industrial districts by exploring the ways in which differentiation, specialization, and integration affect the generation, diffusion, and use of new knowledge in such districts. We begin with an analysis of the importance of the division of labour and then investigate the effects of social embeddedness on innovation. We also consider the effect of forms of organization within industrial districts at various stages of product and process life, and we examine the negative aspects of embeddedness for innovation. We conclude with a discussion of the possible consequences of new information and communications technologies on innovation in industrial districts

Boundary Management in Projects: Antecedents, Activities and Performance

Despite increasing interest among practitioners and the recent scientific explo-rations on the dynamics of boundary management in project and team contexts, the existing studies seems to lack empirical understanding on the factors that explain the boundary management behavior of project managers. The purpose of this study is to analyze how the three antecedent factors - cross-functional participation, embeddedness and top management control - are related to four different types of boundary management activities practiced by project managers, namely coordinating, enabling, reporting and guarding. Based on the sample of 236 projects, the results show that embeddedness and top-management control have positive influence on boundary-management activities and cross-functional participation has both positive and negative contribution to boundary management activities. Furthermore, the results reveal that boundary management activities have both positive and negative influence on project performance. Contributions of the research are discussed, as well as practical implications, limitations, and directions for future research.Boundary management, project team, embeddedness, cross-functional participation, top-management control

Social Embeddedness and Agent Development

Two different reasons for using agents are distinguished: the `engineering' perspective and the `social simulation' perspective. It is argued that this entails some differences in approach. In particular the former will want to prevent unpredictable emergent features of their agent populations whilst the later will want to use simulation to study precisely this phenomena. A concept of `social embeddedness' is explicated which neatly distinguishes the two approaches. It is argued that such embedding in a society is an essential feature of being a truly social agent. This has the consequence that such agents will not sit well within an `engineering' methodology