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Far-Reaching or Closely-Knit, Innovative or Complementary? : Network Configurations and Firm-Level Innovation in the German Energy Sector
Reck, Fabian; Fliaster, Alexander (2024): Far-Reaching or Closely-Knit, Innovative or Complementary? : Network Configurations and Firm-Level Innovation in the German Energy Sector, in: Bamberg: Otto-Friedrich-Universität, S. 668–698.
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Author:
Publisher Information:
Year of publication:
2024
Pages:
Source/Other editions:
Strategic Organization, 22 (2024), 4, S. 668-698. - ISSN: 1741-315X, 1476-1270
Year of first publication:
2024
Language:
English
Abstract:
In this article, we advocate a theoretical perspective that views the firm’s ego-network as a configuration of multiple interdependent attributes, each granting resource advantages that may complement or substitute one another. Collecting empirical data from the German energy industry and using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), we explore how five major network attributes (size, diversity, strength, innovativeness, and complementarity) combine to impact firm-level innovation. Based on the empirical results, we specify the orchestrating themes that constitute the “internal” and “external” fit of network configurations. Concerning internal fit, we identify a distinct pattern of complementing and substituting relations between network attributes. Specifically, we find that innovation performance results from the firm’s network combining network size or partner diversity or tie strength, and partner innovativeness or partner complementarity. Concerning external fit, we demonstrate that depending on firm size and internal intellectual capital, there are different “optimal” network configurations for different types of firms.
GND Keywords: ; ; ;
Energiewirtschaft
Innovationsmanagement
Netzwerk
Konfiguration <Informatik>
Keywords: ; ; ; ;
fsQCA
innovation
network configuration
network resources
strategic networks
DDC Classification:
RVK Classification:
Peer Reviewed:
Yes:
International Distribution:
Yes:
Type:
Article
Activation date:
January 17, 2025
Project(s):
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https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/105502