Sunbelt XXXI International Network for Social Network ... - INSNA

Fostering Support For Innovative Projects ‐ The Role Of Cross Hierarchical TiesAalbers, Rick; Dolfsma, Wilfred; Koppius, Otto; Leenders, RogerOrganizational NetworksInnovation Networks, Team Performance, BrokerageFRI.PM1Social networks have been found to be an important driver of successful innovations, both at the individual level as well as the organizational level, and recentresearch has also shown effects of the networks within teams. However, innovation teams are embedded within an organizational context; they have links toother teams, departments, business units as well as hierarchical levels. While we know from the general innovation literature that a diverse project context isimportant for innovation success, the implications of hierarchical network relations remain unclear. Although previous research on bridging ties has advancedour understanding of innovative project performance it is not sufficient to explain the impact of new business development projects on innovativeperformance. By investigating the effect of cross‐hierarchical ties our research fills in this gap and explores the degree to which the availability of crosshierarchical ties to a project team affects project performance. Our results are based on a multiple case study of several new business development (NBD)teams at a large European financial service provider. Our preliminary results show that high performing innovation project teams are characterized by arelatively high degree of average cross hierarchical ties among team members as compared to the less performing teams. As a result we find support for therole of cross hierarchical ties in fostering support for innovative project.Founder Characteristics And The Social Psychological Mechanisms Of Entrepreneurial Network DevelopmentHeidl, Ralph; Yao, XinBusiness & Entrepreneurial NetworksEntrepreneurial Process, Social Cognition, Founder CharacteristicsWED.PM2Network resources have long been recognized as a critical factor influencing new venture performance. However, the relationship between social networksand venture performance is complex and multi‐facetted. Different network configurations have different performance implications during the different stagesdefining the entrepreneurial process. Moreover, extant entrepreneurship research often assumes social network composition and structure to be exogenous(i.e., determined by factors outside the control of the entrepreneur). This assumption is unrealistic and neglects the impact of the founders’ individualpreferences for and efficacy in creating, maintaining, and dissolving social relationships that can steer the venture onto different developmental paths. Weaddress this gap by proposing a model that takes into account the social psychological mechanisms through which founder characteristics impact the evolutionof a new venture’s network. Specifically, we focus on social cognitive processes that channel founder individual differences into network formation andtransformation patterns. Furthermore, we discuss the performance implications of the entrepreneur’s networking preferences at different stages of venturedevelopment. In doing so we seek to integrate two largely disconnected streams of entrepreneurship research – entrepreneurial social networks and the socialpsychology of entrepreneurs – to inform venture performance.