Toward a Theory of Extended Contact: The Incentives and Opportunities for Bridging Across Network Communities

Authors:
Maxim Sytch;Adam Tatarynowicz;Ranjay Gulati
Affiliations:
Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109;Department of Organization and Strategy, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands;Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02163
Venue:
Organization Science
Year:
2012

Citing 13
Cited 0

Networks, Diversity, and Productivity: The Social Capital of Corporate R&D Teams

Organization Science
Knowledge Networks as Channels and Conduits: The Effects of Spillovers in the Boston Biotechnology Community

Organization Science
Friends or Strangers? Firm-Specific Uncertainty, Market Uncertainty, and Network Partner Selection

Organization Science
Brokers and Competitive Advantage

Management Science
Interfirm Collaboration Networks: The Impact of Large-Scale Network Structure on Firm Innovation

Management Science
Power-Law Distributions in Empirical Data

SIAM Review
Repeated Interactions and Contractual Detail: Identifying the Learning Effect

Organization Science
Relationship Duration and Returns to Brokerage in the Staffing Sector

Organization Science
Introduction to the Special Issue: The Genesis and Dynamics of Organizational Networks

Organization Science
The Rise and Fall of Small Worlds: Exploring the Dynamics of Social Structure

Organization Science
The Missing Link: The Effect of Customers on the Formation of Relationships Among Producers in the Multiplex Triads

Organization Science
Better with Age? Tie Longevity and the Performance Implications of Bridging and Closure

Organization Science
Not All Bridging Ties Are Equal: Network Imprinting and Firm Growth in the Nashville Legal Industry, 1933–1978

Organization Science

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

This study investigates the determinants of bridging ties within networks of interconnected firms. Bridging ties are defined as nonredundant connections between firms located in different network communities. We highlight how firms can enter into these relationships because of the incentives and opportunities for action that are embedded in the existing network structure. Specifically, we propose that the dynamics of proximate network structures, which reflect firms' and their partners' direct connections, affect the formation of bridging ties by shaping the value-creation and value-distribution incentives for bridging. We also argue that the evolving global network structure affects firms' propensity to form bridging ties by shaping the structural opportunities for bridging. We test our theory using the network of partnership ties among firms in the global computer industry from 1991 to 2005. We find support for structural incentives and opportunities as influential precursors of bridging ties.