Assuming heterogeneity among relationally-embedded ties, this study focuses on their classification. Network ties embedded within social relationships influence economic actions and represent a strategic form of organizing for emerging entrepreneurial firms. Research questions include the following: (I) What are the components of the social relationships of relationally-embedded ties? (2) How can relationally-embedded network ties be classified to identify different types of embeddedness based on variations in the social relationships? (3) What strategic implications can be drawn from a multidimensional view of relational embeddedness? This study uses case study methods to examine external network ties of eight emerging firms in the computer industry A classification typology of seven types of relational embeddedness emerges based upon combinations of three overarching social components-personal relationship, dyadic economic interaction, and social capital. The typology suggests multidimensionality of both embeddedness type and intensity. The discussion addresses strategic outcomes of heterogeneity within relational embeddedness
Alba, J. D.
(1982) `Taking Stock of Network Analysis: A Decade's Results', Research in the Sociology of Organizations1: 39-74.
2.
Aldrich, H.
(1989) `Networking among Women Entrepreneurs', in O. Hagan, C. Rivchun and D. Sexton (eds) Women-Owned Businesses, pp. 103-131. New York: Praeger.
3.
Aldrich, H. E.
, Elam, A. B. and Reese, R. (1996) `Strong Ties, Weak Ties and Strangers: Do Women Owners Differ from Men in their Use of Networking to Obtain Assistance?', in S. Birley and I. C. MacMillan (eds) Entrepreneurship in a Global Contest, pp. 1-25. London: Routledge.
4.
Aldrich, H. E.
and Zimmer, C. (1986) `Entrepreneurship Through Social Networks', in D. L. Sexton and R. W. Smilor (eds) The Art and Science of Entrepreneurship, pp. 2-23. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
5.
Barney, J.
(1991) `Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage', Journal of Management17(1): 99-120.
6.
Barney, J. B.
and Hansen, M. H. (1994) `Trustworthiness as a Source of Competitive Advantage', Strategic Management Journal15: 175-190.
7.
Baum, J. A. C.
(1996) `Organizational Ecology', in S. Clegg, C. Hardy and W. Nord (eds) Handbook of Organization Studies, pp. 77-114. London: Sage.
8.
Baum, J. A. C.
and Oliver, C. (1992) `Institutional Embeddedness and the Dynamics of Organizational Populations', American Sociological Review57: 540-559.
9.
Berg, B. L.
(1995) Qualitative Research Methods/or the Social Sciences. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
10.
Bhide, A.
(2000) The Origin and Evolution of New Business. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
11.
Borch, O. J.
and Arthur, M. B. (1995) `Strategic Networks Among Small Firms: Implications for Strategy Research Methodology', Journal of Management Studies32(4): 419-441.
12.
Bourdieu, P.
(1986) `The Forms of Capital', in J. G. Richardson (ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research of the Sociology of Education, pp. 241-258. New York: Greenwood.
13.
Bradach, J. L.
and Eccles, R. G. (1991) `Price, Authority and Trust: From Ideal Types to Plural Forms', in G. Thompson, J. Frances, R. Levacic and J. Mitchell (eds) Markets, Hierarchies and Networks: The Coordination of Social Life, pp. 277-292. London: Sage.
14.
Bruderl, J.
, Preisendorfer, P. and Ziegler, R. (1992) `Survival Chances of Newly Founded Business Organizations', American Sociological Review57: 227-242.
15.
Burt, R. S.
(1982) `A Note on Cooptation and Definitions of Constraint', in P. V. Marsden and N. Lin (eds) Social Structure and Network Analysis, pp. 219-233. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
16.
Burt, R. S.
(1992) Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
17.
Burt, R. S.
(1997) `A Note on Social Capital and Network Context', Social Networks19: 355-373.
18.
Burt, R. S.
(2000) `The Network Structure of Social Capital', in R. I. Sutton and B. M. Staw (eds) Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 22. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
19.
Burt, R. S.
(2002) `The Social Capital of Structural Holes', in M. F. Guillén, R. Collins, P. England and M. Meyer (eds) New Directions in Economic Sociology, pp. 201-251. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
20.
Burt, R. S.
and Knez, M. (1996) `Trust and Third-party Gossip', in R. M. Kramer and T. R. Tyler (eds) Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research, pp. 68-89. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
21.
Chafetz, J. S.
(1978) A Primer on the Construction and Testing of Theories in Sociology. Itasca, IL: F E. Peacock.
22.
Chandler, G. N.
and Hanks, S. N. (1998) `An Investigation of New Venture Teams in Emerging Businesses', paper presented at the Bobson Entrepreneurial Conference, Gent.
23.
Coffey, A.
and Atkinson, R (1996) Making Sense of Qualitative Data: Complementary Research Strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
24.
Coleman, J. S.
(1988) `Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital', American Journal of Sociology94 (Supplemental): S95-S120.
25.
Coleman, J. S.
(1990) Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
26.
Curran, J.
, Jarvis, R., Blackburn, R. A. and Black, S. (1993) `Networks and Small Firms: Constructs, Methodological Strategies and some Findings', International Small Business Journal11(2): 13-25.
27.
De Burca, S.
, Brannick, T., Fynes, B. and Glynn, L. (2001) `Intimate Relations - Fact or Fiction: An Analysis of Business to Business Relationships in Irish Companies', Irish Journal of Management22(1): 5 5-71.
28.
Denzin, N. K.
and Lincoln, Y S. (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
29.
Dierickx, I.
and Cool, K. (1989) `Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage', Management Science35: 1504-1511.
30.
Doty, D. H.
and Glick, W. H. (1994) `Typologies as a Unique Form of Theory Building: Toward Improved Understanding and Modeling', Academy of Management Review19(2): 230-251.
31.
Dubini, P.
and Aldrich, H. (1991) `Personal and Extended Networks are Central to the Entrepreneurial Process', Journal of Business Venturing6(5): 305-313.
32.
Dyer, J. H.
and Singh, H. (1998) `The Relational View: Cooperative Strategy and Sources of Interorganizational Competitive Advantage', Academy of Management Review23(4): 660-679.
33.
Dyer, J. H.
and Singh, H. (1999) `On the Relational View: Response to Relational View Commentary', Academy of Management Review24(2): 184-187.
34.
Eisenhardt, K. M.
(1989) `Building Theories from Case Study Research', Academy of Management Review14(4): 532-550.
35.
Emerson, R. M.
(1976) `Social Exchange Theory', Annual Review of Sociology2: 335-362.
36.
Erlandson, D. A.
, Harris, E. L., Skipper, B. L. and Allen, S. D. (1993) Doing Naturalistic Inquiry: A Guide to Methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
37.
Feld, S. L.
(1997) `Structural Embeddedness and Stability of Interpersonal Relations', Social Networks19(1): 91-95.
38.
Fisher, M.
(1997) Qualitative Computing: Using Software for Qualitative Data Analysis. Aldershot: Ashgate.
39.
Glaser, B.
and Strauss, A. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies of Qualitative Research. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
40.
Gnyawali, D. R.
and Madhavan, R. (2001) `Cooperative Networks and Competitive Dynamics: A Structural Embeddedness Perspective', The Academy of Management Review26(3): 431-445.
41.
Good, D.
(1988) `Individuals, Interpersonal Relations and Trust', in E. Gambetta (ed.) Trust Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations, pp. 31-48. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell.
42.
Gough, S.
and Scott, W. (2000) `Exploring the Purposes of Qualitative Data Coding in Educational Enquiry: Insights from Recent Research', Educational Studies26(3): 339-354.
43.
Granovetter, M.
(1985) `Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness', American Journal of Sociology91(3): 481-485 10.
44.
Granovetter, M.
(1992) `Problems of Explanation in Economic Sociology', in N. Nohria and R. Eccles (eds) Networks and Organizations, pp. 25-56. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
45.
Granovetter, M. S.
(1973) `The Strength of Weak Ties', American Journal of Sociology78(6): 1360-1380.
46.
Granovetter, M. S.
(1982) `The Strength of Weak Ties: A Network Theory Revisited', in P. V. Marsden and N. Lin (eds) Social Structure and Network Analysis, pp. 105-130. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
47.
Gregersen, H. B.
and Black, J. S. (1992) `Antecedents to Commitment to a Parent Company and a Foreign Operation', Academy of Management Journal35(1): 65-90.
48.
Guba, E. G.
and Lincoln, Y S. (1994) `Competing Paradigms in Qualitative Research', in N. K. Denzin and Y S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 105-117. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
49.
Gummesson, E.
(1991) Qualitative Methods in Management Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
50.
Hansen, E. L.
(1995) `Entrepreneurial Networks and New Organization Growth', Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice19(4): 7-20.
51.
Hennart, J. F.
(1993) `Explaining the Swollen Middle: Why Most Transactions are a Mix of Market and Hierarchy', Organization Science4(4): 529-547.
52.
Hesterly, W. S.
, Jones, C. and Madhok, A. (1998) Trust: A Typology and its Applications in Economic Exchange. Unpublished manuscript.
53.
Hite, J. M.
and Hesterly, W. S. (2001) `The Evolution of Firm Networks: From Emergence to Early Growth of the Firm', Strategic Management Journal22(3): 275-286.
54.
Homan, G.
(1950) The Human Group. New York: Harcourt Brace.
55.
Huberman, A. M.
and Miles, M. B. (1994) `Data Management and Analysis Methods', in N. K. Denzin and Y S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 428-444. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
56.
Jarillo, J. C.
(1989) `Entrepreneurship and Growth: The Strategic Use of External Resources', Journal of Business Venturing4(2): 133-147.
57.
Johannisson, B.
and Monsted, M. (1998) `Contextualizing Entrepreneurial Networking: A Case of Scandinavia', International Studies of Management and Organization27(3): 109-136.
58.
Jones, C.
, Hesterly, W. S. and Borgatti, S. P. (1997) `A General Theory of Network Governance: Exchange Conditions and Social Mechanisms', Academy of Management Review22(4): 911-945.
59.
Jones, G. R.
and George, J. M. (1998) `The Experience and Evolution of Trust: Implications for Cooperation and Teamwork', Academy of Management Review23(3): 531-546.
60.
King, G.
, Keohane, R. O. and Verba, S. (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
61.
Kirzner, I. M.
(1973) Competition and Entrepreneurship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
62.
Kirzner, I. M.
(1997) `Entrepreneurial Discovery and the Competitive Market Process: An Austrian Approach', Journal of Economic Literature35: 60-85.
63.
Krackhardt, D.
(1992) `The Strength of Strong Ties: The Importance of Philos in Organizations', in N. Nohria and R. G. Eccles (eds) Networks and Organizations: Structure, Form and Action, pp. 216-239. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
64.
Krackhardt, D.
(1995) `Entrepreneurial Opportunities in an Entrepreneurial Firm: A Structural Approach', Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice19(3): 5249.
65.
Langley, A.
(1999) `Strategies for Theorizing from Process Data', Academy of Management Review24(4): 691-710.
66.
Larson, A. L.
(1992) `Network Dyads in Entrepreneurial Settings: A Study of the Governance of Exchange Relationships', Administrative Science Quarterly37: 76-103.
67.
Larson, A. L.
and Starr, J. A. (1993) `A Network Model of Organization Formation, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice17(2): 5-15.
68.
Lincoln, Y
and Guba, E. (1985) Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
69.
Macaulay, S.
(1963) `Non-contractual Relations in Business: A Preliminary Study', American Sociological Review28(1): 55-69.
70.
MacLean, T. L.
(2001) `Thick as Thieves: A Social Embeddedness Model of Rule Breaking in Organizations', Business and Society40(2): 167-196.
71.
Macneil, I.
(1978) `Contracts: Adjustment of Long-term Economic Relations under Classical, Neo-classical and Relational Contract Law', Northwestern University Law Review72: 854-906.
72.
MacQueen, K. M.
, McLellan, E., Kay, K. and Milstein, B. (1998) `Codebook Development for Team-based Qualitative Analysis', Cultural Anthropology Methods10(2): 31-36.
73.
Madhok, A.
(1997) `Cost, Value and Foreign Market Entry Mode: The Transaction and the Firm', Strategic Management Journal18(1): 39-61.
74.
Marsden, Peter V.
(1981) `Introducing Influence Processes into a System of Collective Decisions', American Journal of Sociology86: 1203-1235.
75.
McKelvey, B.
and Aldrich, H. (1983) `Populations, Natural Selection and Applied Organizational Science', Administrative Science Quarterly28(2): 101-128.
76.
Miles, M. B.
and Huberman, A. M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook, 2nd edn.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
77.
Mizruchi, M. S.
(1994) `Social Network Analysis: Recent Achievements and Current Controversies', Acta Sociologica37(4): 37-52.
78.
Nahapiet, J.
and Ghoshal, S. (1998) `Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage', Academy of Management Review23(2): 242-266.
79.
NVivo (Version N5)(2000) Vic, Australia: QSR International Pty Ltd.
80.
Peteraf, M. A.
(1993) `The Cornerstones of Competitive Advantage: A Resource-based View', Strategic Management Journal14: 179-192.
81.
Poppo, L.
and Zenger, T. (2000) `Substitutes or Complements? Exploring the Relationship between Formal Contracts and Relational Governance', paper presented at the BYU Winter Strategy Conference, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 4 March.
82.
Portes, A.
and Sensenbrenner, J. (1993) `Embeddedness and Immigration: Notes on the Social Determinants of Economic Action', American Journal of Sociology98(6): 1320-1350.
83.
Powell, W. W.
(1987) `Hybrid Organizational Arrangements: New Forms or Transitional Development', California Management Review30(1): 67-98.
84.
Powell, W W.
(1990) `Neither Market nor Hierarchy: Network Forms of Organization', Research in Organizational Behavior12: 295-336.
85.
Powell, W. W.
and Smith-Doerr, L. (1994) `Networks and Economic Life', in N. J. Smelser and R. Swedberg (eds) The Handbook of Economic Sociology, pp. 368-402. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
86.
Provan, K. G.
(1993) `Embeddedness, Interdependence, Opportunism in Organizational Supplier-buyer Networks', Journal of Management19(4): 841-857.
87.
Putnam, R. D.
(1993) `Social Capital and Institutional Success', in R. D. Putnam, R. Leonardi and R. Y. Nanetti (eds) Making Democracy Work, pp. 163-185. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
88.
Reese, R.
and Aldrich, H. E. (1995) `Entrepreneurial Networks and Business Performance', in S. Birley and I. C. MacMillan (eds) International Entrepreneurship, pp. 124-144. London: Routledge.
89.
Richards, T. J.
and Richards, L. (1994) `Using Computers in Qualitative Research', in N. K. Denzin and Y S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 445-462. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
90.
Ring, P.
and Van de Ven, A. (1989) `Formal and Informal Dimensions of Transactions', in A. Van de Ven, H. Angle and R. S. Poole (eds) Research on the Management of the Innovation, pp. 171-192. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
91.
Robinson, V. M. J.
(1993) Problem Based Methodology: Research for the Improvement of Practice. Oxford: Pergamon.
92.
Romanelli, E.
(1989) `Environments and Strategies of Organization Start-up: Effects on Early Survival', Administrative Science Quarterly34: 369-387.
93.
Rowley, T.
, Behrens, D. and Krackhardt, D. (2000) `Redundant Governance Structures: An Analysis of Structural and Relational Embeddedness in the Steel and Semiconductor Industries', Strategic Management Journal21(3): 369-386.
94.
Saxenian, A.
(1990) `Regional Networks and the Resurgence of Silicon Valley', California Management Review33(1): 89-111.
95.
Schein, E. H.
(1987) The Clinical Perspective in Fieldwork, Vol. 5. London: Sage.
96.
Shan, W.,Walker, G.
and Kogut, B. (1994) `Interfirm Cooperation and Startup Innovation in the Biotechnology Industry', Strategic Management Journal15:-387-394.
97.
Shimizu, K.
and Dacin, T. (1998) `Social Capital Dynamics: A Multi-level, Embeddedness Perspective', paper presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
98.
Shuman, J. C.
and Buono, A. (1992) `Network Organizations and Venture Creation: A Case Study of Model American Computer Corporation', Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research303-317.
99.
Siegel, R.
, Siegel, E. and MacMillan, I. C. (1993) `Characteristics Distinguishing High-growth Ventures', Journal of Business Venturing8(2): 169-180.
100.
Staber, U.
(1994) `Friends, Acquaintances, Strangers: Gender Differences in the Structure of Entrepreneurial Networks', Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship11(1): 73-82.
101.
Staber, U.
and Aldrich, H. E. (1995) `Cross-national Similarities in the Personal Networks of Small Business Owners: A Comparison of Two Regions in North America', Canadian Journal of Sociology20(4): 441-467.
102.
Starr, J. A.
and MacMillan, I. C. (1990) `Resource Cooptation via Social Contracting: Resource Acquisition Strategies for New Ventures', Strategic Management Journal11: 79-92.
103.
Steer, L.
and Greenwood, R. (1998) `The Evolution of "Angel" Networks', paper presented at the Babson Entrepreneurial Conference, Gent, Belgium, 20-23 May.
104.
Strauss, A. L.
and Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
105.
Strauss, A. L.
and Corbin, J. (1994) `Grounded Theory Methodology', in N. K. Denzin and Y S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 273-285. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
106.
Thompson, J. D.
(1967) `Technology and Structure', in J. D. Thompson, Organization in Action, pp. 51-65. New York: McGraw-Hill.
107.
Ulrich, D.
and McKelvey, B. (1990) `General Organizational Classification: An Empirical Test Using the United States and Japanese Electronics Industries', Organization Science1(1): 99-118.
108.
Uzzi, B.
(1996) `The Sources and Consequences of Embeddedness for the Economic Performance of Organizations: The Network Effect', American Sociological Review61: 674-698.
109.
Uzzi, B.
(1997) `Social Structure and Competition in Interfirm Networks: The Paradox of Embeddedness', Administrative Science Quarterly42: 3547.
110.
Uzzi, B.
(1999) `Embeddedness in the Making of Financial Capital: How Social Relations and Networks Benefit Firms Seeking Financing', American Sociological Review64(4): 481-505.
111.
Van de Ven, A. H.
(1993) `The Development of an Infrastructure for Entrepreneurship', Journal of Business Venturing8(3): 211-230.
112.
Weick, K. E.
(1979) The Social Psychology of Organizing, 2nd edn.New York: McGraw-Hill.
113.
Wernerfelt, B.
(1995) `The Resource-based View of the Firm: Ten Years After', Strategic Management Journal16(3): 171-174.
114.
Williamson, O.
, Ed. (1994) The Economics and Sociology of Organization: Promoting a Dialogue. New York: Plenum Press.
115.
Williamson, O. E.
(1985) The Economic Institutions of Capitalism. New York: The Free Press.
116.
Yin, R. K.
(1994a) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
117.
Yin, R. K.
(1994b) `Evaluation: A Singular Craft', in C. S. Reichardt and S. F. Rallis (eds) The Qualitative-quantitative Debate: New Perspectives, pp. 71-84. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
118.
Zaheer, A.
, McEvily, B. and Perrone, V. (1998) `Does Trust Matter? Exploring the Effects of Interorganizational and Interpersonal Trust on Performance', Organization Science9(2): 141-159.
119.
Zaheer, A.
and Venkataraman, S. (1995) `Relational Governance as an Interorganizational Strategy: An Empirical Test of the Rate of Trust in Economic Exchange', Strategic Management Journal16: 373-392.
120.
Zhao, L.
and Aram, J. D. (1995) `Networking and Growth of Young Technology-intensive Ventures in China', Journal of Business Venturing10(5): 349-370.
121.
Zucker, L. G.
(1986) `Production of Trust: Institutional Sources of Economic Structure, 1840-1920', in B. M. Staw and L. L. Cummings (eds) Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 8, pp. 53-111. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
122.
Zukin, S.
and DiMaggio, P. (1990) Structures of Capital: The Social Organization of the Economy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
