Critical Factors in the Formation and Development of Technology-Based Firm Networks in Incubation Environments in Brazil

This research aims to identify the critical factors that influence the formation and development of the interorganizational networks that have emerged within incubators of technology-based firms in Brazil. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with startups form two networks of incubated companies (Education Network and Technology, Information and Knowledge Companies Network) and two incubators (Center of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology — CIETEC — and Incubator of Technology-Based Companies of Itajubá — INCIT). As a result, this study found eight critical factors: Actions by entrepreneurs, leadership, shared spaces, facilitation, network management, financial and brokerage, which can be framed in four characteristics: heterogeneity of the firms, lack of cooperation, interactions and the actions of the incubator. As a contribution, this research allows reflection on the effectiveness of the incubator, in addition to highlighting the complementarity of networks in the incubation processes. The study analyses different models of incubated firm networks that have been little explored as an object of study in the incubation literature and networks and what is the role of the incubator in each of these models.

EXPRESS: Toward Temporally Complex Collaboration in an Interorganizational Research Network

Prior research suggests interorganizational collaboration faces temporal challenges but also opportunities yet is scarce on the role of time enabling – more often deterring - collaboration for collective benefit. Our contribution is highlighting how a large industry-academic research network developed temporally complex collaboration through varying temporal rules and relationships. The three network-developed collaborative repertoires, with their particular temporal rules and relationships, complemented the externally imposed calendar repertoire: (1) sprint repertoire, following a familiar agile method for joint research, (2) narrative time repertoire, enabling sharing research results across various events at the program level, and (3) “right” time repertoire that turned research results into action in emerging business ecosystems. With these collaborative repertoires, both the temporal diversities of home organizations and the asynchronies of the network activities were resolved for collective benefit. We contribute to the intersection of the literatures on interorganizational networks and temporality as befitting collaboration.

Cultivating Graduate STEM Pathways: How Alliance-Based STEM Enrichment Programs Broker Opportunity for Students of Color

To understand how higher education institutions broker graduate opportunities for Students of Color (SOCs) in STEM, we employ a single case study of a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) alliance. Drawing primarily from student interviews and informed by Small’s (2006) organizational brokerage theory, our findings illuminate how 1) alliance-based STEM enrichment programs (SEPs) bridge social capital via interorganizational networks and 2) how SEP instability creates barriers to building the trust that is central to the brokerage process. We conclude with recommendations for future research and practice.

The town of bent necks: interorganizational causes and consequences of relational rivalry

PurposeThis study aims at developing a conceptual framework for the networking behaviour of firms having relational and non-relational competitive interactions. Initially the question of how negative ties change the meaning of competition for the rival firms was discussed and then how these types of interactions can change possible networking preferences of organizations were theoretically estimated.Design/methodology/approachThis study suggests that relational rivalry is closely linked with negative ties and even the emergence of strong positive ties among firms is viewed as a consequence of dyadic negative interactions. Different types of competitive conditions were classified under non-relational and relational categories.FindingsNot applicable.Originality/valueA majority of the studies on interorganizational networks are mostly concerned with positive tie formation patterns and the consequences of these interactions. However, there is limited number of macro-level studies, which realized explanatory potential of the negative interfirm relations. Negative interorganizational relations may also make significant contributions to the discipline of economic sociology.

What Influences Relationship Formation in a Global Civil Society Network? An Examination of Valued Multiplex Relations

Recent interorganizational communication research has taken up the question: why are networks structured the way they are? This line of inquiry has advanced communication network research by helping explain how and why networks take on certain structures or why certain organizations become positioned advantageously (or not). Yet, those studies assume relationships among organizations are either present or absent. This study considers how the strength of ties and multiplex relationships among organizations may reveal a more complex explanation for why networks take on certain structures. Our results challenge some long held assumptions about the mechanisms that influence network formation. For instance, our results offer important insights into the consequences of closure mechanisms, the applicability of preferential attachment to real-world networks, and the nuances of homophily in network formation on multidimensional relationships in a communication network. Implications for interorganizational networks are discussed.

Assessing Collaborative Capabilities for Sustainability in Interorganizational Networks

Sustainability in interorganizational networks depends on developing collaborative capabilities for this purpose. However, to improve their collaborative capabilities for sustainability (CCS), companies in interorganizational networks need methods to assess them. The existing CCS assessment approaches in the literature do not indicate what capabilities should be improved in an individual company to support collaborative strategies. Addressing this gap, the main contribution of this paper is providing a framework to assess CCS in interorganizational networks, providing support for improving firm-level capabilities. To attain this aim, the framework was based on the graph-theoretic approach (GTA), a multi-attribute technique that captures the interrelationships between elements of a system, providing multi-level and overall assessment. We tested the framework in three hotels from a tourism cluster in Brazil, where sustainability has been an unsettling issue. By applying the assessment framework, it was possible to generate a CCS index for each company and, thereby, to compare the results. Findings from the field confirmed the benefits of using the framework and its utility in assessing CCS and setting priorities for improvement.