- Research Article
- Published:
Does stage matter? The roles of organizational learning, social network, and corporate entrepreneurship in Chinese new ventures
Frontiers of Business Research in China volume 3, pages 362–392 (2009)
Abstract
This study examines the roles of organizational learning, social network and corporate entrepreneurship (CE) in Chinese new ventures at different developmental stages. Several conclusions are drawn from structural equation modeling based on a large sample of 676 new ventures. First, most of the recursive positive relationships are supported by data of the overall sample, such as those between radical CE and exploration, incremental CE and exploitation, and strong ties and exploitation. Second, in the sub-samples, we only find support for the recursive positive relationships between radical CE and exploration, and incremental CE and exploitation among all the three subsamples. Third, for new ventures in the early stage, relationships are emphasized concerning incremental CE, strong ties, and exploitation; for new ventures in the middle stage, new relationships concerning weak ties, exploration, and radical CE come into effect and previous ones still have influence; and for new ventures in the late stage, new relationships begin to dominate and old ones evade.
摘要
在总结国外学者有关组织学习、社会资本和公司创业研究的基础上, 概括了 它们之间相互关系的六个代表性模型, 并通过江苏和广东两省的 676家新兴企业的 问卷调查数据进行了验证。结果表明, 组织学习、社会资本和公司创业相互促进, 但这些相互促进关系在新兴企业发展的不同阶段发挥不同的作用。 在早期企业比较侧重于利用式学习、 强关系和渐进式公司创业之间的促进关系; 而在中期企业则倾向于在原有促进关系的基础上尝试探索式学习、 弱关系和激进式公司创业; 经过不断地调整, 在后期各种因素之间的相互促进关系逐渐清晰和明显, 并达到平衡。
References
Anderson J C, Gerbing D W (1988). Structural equation modeling practice: A review and recommend two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103: 411–423
Amburgey T L, Kelly D, Barnett W P (1993). Resetting the clock: The dynamics of organizational change and failure. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38: 51–73
Amburgey T L, Rao H (1996). Organizational ecology: Past, present, and future directions. Academy of Management Journal, 39(5): 1265–1286
Atuahene-Gima K (2003). The effect of exploratory and exploitative market learning on new product performance in new technology ventures: A resource-based perspective. Working paper in City University of Hong Kong
Bapuji H, Crossan M (2004). From questions to answers: Reviewing organizational research. Management Learning, 35(4): 397–417
Barkema H G, Vermeulen F (1998). International expansion through start-up or acquisitions: A Learning perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 41(1): 7–26
Baum J A C (1996). Organizational ecology. In: Clegg S, Hardy C, Nord W (eds.), Handbook of Organizational Studies, 77–114. London: Sage Publications
Baum J A C, Locke E A, Smith K G (2001). A multidimensional model of venture growth. Academy of Management Journal, 44: 292–303
Beckman C M, Haunschild P R, Phillips D J (2004). Friends or strangers? Firm-specific uncertainty, market uncertainty, and network partner selection. Organization Science, 15(3):259–275
Benner M J, Tushman M L (2003). Exploitation, exploration, and process management: The productivity dilemma revisited. Academy of Management Review, 28(2): 238–256
Bentler P M (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107:238–246
Bollen K A (1989). Structural Equations with Latent Variables. New York: Wiley
Boyacigiller N, Adler N J (1991). The parochial dinosaur: Organizational science in a global context. Academy of Management Review, 16: 262–290
Brown S L, Eisenhardt K M (1997). The art of continuous change: Linking complexity theory and time-paced evolution in relentlessly shifting organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42: 1–34
Browne M W, Cudeck R (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit, In: Bollen K A, Long J S (eds.), Testing Structural Equation Models, 136–162. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Bruderl J, Preisendorfer P (1998). Network support and the success of newly founded businesses. Small Business Economics, 10: 213–225
Byrne B (1998). Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL, PRELIS, and SIMPLIS. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Chandler G N, Hanks S H (1994). Market attractiveness, resource-based capabilities, venture strategies, and venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 9: 331–349
Cohen W M, Levinthal D A (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35: 128–152
Collins C J, Clark K D (2003). Strategic human resource practices, top management team social networks, and firm performance: The role of human resource practices in creating organizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Journal, 46: 740–751
Cooper A C, Folta T, Woo C (1991). Information acquisition and performance by start-up firms, In: Churchill N S et al. (eds.), Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 276–290. Babson Park, MA: Babson College
Covin J G, Miles M P (1999). Corporate entrepreneurship and the pursuit of competitive advantage. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23(3): 47–63
Covin J G, Slevin D P (1989). Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments. Strategic Management Journal, 10: 75–87
DeGeus A (1988). Planning as learning. Harvard Business Review, 66: 70–74
Dess G G, Ireland R D, Zahra S A, Floyd S W, Janney J J, Lane P J (2003). Emerging issues in corporate entrepreneurship. Journal of Management, 29: 351–378
Dess G G, Lumpkin G T, Covin J G (1997). Entrepreneurial strategy making and firm performance: Tests of contingency and configurational models. Strategic Management Journal, 18(9): 677–695
Delmar F, Shane S (2004). Legitimating first: Organizing activities and the survival of new ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 19: 385–410
Eisenhardt K M, Schoonhoven C B (1990). Organizational growth: Linking founding team, strategy, environment, and growth among US semiconductor ventures, 1978–1988. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(3): 504–529
Ensley M D, Pearson A W, Amaso A C (2002). Understanding the dynamics of new venture top management teams cohesion, conflict, and new venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 17: 365–386
Galbraith J R (1973). Designing complex organizations. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
Granovetter M S (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78: 1360–1380
Guthrie D (1998). The declining significance of guanxi in China’s economic transition. The China Quarterly, 154(June): 254–282
Hambrick D C, Mason P A (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9: 123–206
Hansen M (1999). The search-transfer problem: The role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organizational subunits. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44: 82–111
He Z, Wong P (2004). Exploration vs. Exploitation: An empirical test of the ambidexterity hypothesis. Organization Science, 15(4): 481–494
Henderson R M, Clark K (1990). Architectural innovation: The reconfiguration of existing product technologies and the failure of established firms. Academy of Management Journal, 25: 510–531
Hoang H, Antoncic B (2003). Network-based research in entrepreneurship: A critical review. Journal of Business Venturing, 18: 165–187
Huber G P (1991). Organizational learning: The contributing processes and the literatures. Organization Science, 2: 88–115
Ireland R D, Hitt M A, Camp S M, Sexton D L (2001). Integrating entrepreneurship and strategic management actions to create firm wealth. Academy of Management Executive, 15:49–63
Kazanjian R K, Drazin R, Glynn M A (2002). Implementing strategies for corporate entrepreneurship: A knowledge-based perspective, In: Hitt M A, Ireland R D, Camp S M, Sexton D L (eds.), Strategic Entrepreneurship: Creating a New Mindset, 173–199. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers
Kogut B, Zander U (1992). Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities and the replication of technology. Organization Science, 3: 383–397
Kyriakopoulos K, Moorman C (2004). Tradeoffs in marketing exploitation and exploration strategies: The overlooked role of market orientation. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 21: 219–240
Lau C M, Lu Y, Makino S, Chen X, Yeh R (2002). Knowledge management of high-tech firms, In: Tsui A S, Lau C M (eds.), The Management of Enterprises in the People’s Republic of China, 183–210. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers
Lawrence P R, Lorsch J W (1967). Organization and environment: Managing differentiation and integration. Homewood, IL: Irwin
Lee C, Lee K, Pennings J M (2001). Internal capabilities, external networks, and performance: A study on technology-based ventures. Strategic Management Journal, 22: 615–640
Levinthal D A, March J G (1993). The myopia of learning. Strategic Management Journal, 14:95–112
Li H, Atuahene-Gima K (2001). Product innovation strategy and performance of new technology ventures in China. Academy of Management Journal, 44(6): 1123–1134
Lumpkin G T, Dess G G (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of Management Review, 21(1): 135–172
Luo Y, Peng M W (1999). Learning to compete in a transition economy: Experience, environment, and performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 30: 269–296
Lyles M A, Saxton T, Watson K (2004). Venture survival in a transitional economy. Journal of Management, 30(3): 351–375
March J G (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2: 71–87
McGrath R (2001). Exploratory learning, innovative capacity, and managerial oversight. Academy of Management Journal, 44: 118–131
Miles R E, Snow C C (1994). Fit, failure, and the hall of fame: How companies succeed or fail. New York: The Free Press
Miller D, Friesen P H (1986). Porter’s generic strategies and performance. Organization Studies, 7: 37–56
Morrison E W (2002). Newcomers’ relationships: The role of social network ties during socialization. Academy of Management Journal, 45: 1149–1160
Nicholls-Nixon C L, Cooper A C, Woo C Y (2000). Strategic experimentation: Understanding change and performance in new ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 15: 493–521
Oliver A L (2001). Strategic alliances and the learning life-cycle of biotechnology firms. Organization Studies, 22(3): 467–489
Olson E M, Walker Jr O C, Ruekert R (1995). Organizing for effective new product development: The moderating role of product innovativeness. Journal of Marketing, 59: 48–62
Park S H, Luo Y (1998). Guanxi and organizational dynamics: Organizational networking in Chinese firms. Strategic Management Journal, 22: 455–477
Peng M W (2001). How entrepreneurs create wealth? Academy of Management Executive, 15(1): 95–110
Peng M W, Health P S (1996). The growth of the firm in planned economies in transition: Institutions, organizations, and strategic choice. Academy of Management Review, 21: 492–528
Peng M W, Luo Y (2000). Managerial ties and firm performance in a transition economy: The nature of micro-macro link. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 486–501
Pfeffer J, Salancik G R (1978). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. New York: Harper & Row
Podsakoff P M, MacKenzie S B, Lee J, Podsakoff N P (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5): 879–903
Podsakoff P M, Organ D W (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12: 531–544
Powell W W, Koput K W, Smith-Doerr L (1996). Interorganizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: Networks of learning in biotechnology. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41: 116–145
Rhee M (2004). Network updating and exploratory learning environment. Journal of Management Studies, 41: 933–949
Rowley T, Behrens D, Krackhardt D (2000). Redundant governance structures: An analysis of structural and relational embeddedness in the steel and semiconductor industries. Strategic Management Journal, 21: 369–386
Schumpeter J (1934). The theory of economic development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Shane S (2000). Prior knowledge and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Organization Science, 11(4): 448–469
Slater S F, Narver J C (1995). Market orientation and the learning organization. Journal of Marketing, 59: 63–74
Steiger J H (1990). Structural model evaluation and modification: An interval estimation approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25: 173–180
Stinchcombe A (1965). Social structure and organizations, In: March J G (eds.), Handbook of Organizations, 142–193. Chicago: Rank McNally
Stuart T, Huang H, Hybels R (1999). Interorganizational endorsements and the performance of entrepreneurial ventures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44: 315–349
Teece D J, Pisano G, Shuen A (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18: 509–533
Uzzi B (1996). The sources and consequences of embeddedness for the economic performance of organizations: The network effects. American Sociological Review, 61: 674–698
Uzzi B (1997). Social structure and competition in inter-firm networks: The paradox of embeddedness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42: 35–67
Van De Ven A H, Polley D (1992). Learning while innovating. Organization Science, 3(1):92–116
Xin K R, Pearce J L (1996). Guanxi: Good connections as substitutes for institutional support. Academy of Management Journal, 39: 1641–1658
Yli-Renko H, Autio E, Sapienza H J (2001). Social capital, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge exploitation in young technology-based firms. Strategic Management Journal, 22:587–613
Zahra S A, Ireland R D, Hitt M A (2000). International expansion by new ventures: International diversity, mode of entry, technological learning, and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 925–950
Zahra S A, Nielsen A P, Bogner W C (1999). Corporate entrepreneurship, knowledge, and competence development. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 24: 169–189
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated and revised from Guanli Kexue Xuebao 管理科学学报 (Journal of Management Science in China), 2008, (6): 61–76
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jiang, C., Zhao, S. Does stage matter? The roles of organizational learning, social network, and corporate entrepreneurship in Chinese new ventures. Front. Bus. Res. China 3, 362–392 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11782-009-0018-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11782-009-0018-y
Keywords
- exploration learning
- exploitation learning
- weak ties
- strong ties
- incremental corporate entrepreneurship
- radical corporate entrepreneurship