The structure of content in multiplex ties: exploring the advantages for rural entrepreneurs

Description

Prior research on the influence of entrepreneurs’ network structures on firm performance has yielded inconclusive results. This may be due to two key limitations in the existing literature. First, networks have often been treated as uniplex, functioning as conduits for a single type of content. Second, there has been an implicit assumption that network structures, analyzed independently of the content they carry, are sufficient to explain entrepreneurial and managerial outcomes. Although it is well recognized that many ties are multiplex—carrying multiple types of content—there has been limited exploration of the interaction between network structure and content within the management literature, and virtually none in an entrepreneurial context. In this study, we examine how both the structure and the content of network ties jointly influence entrepreneurial performance. In doing so, we extend the literature in three important ways. First, by focusing on the structure of various multiplex ties, we attempt to reconcile conflicting findings regarding the positive or negative effects of structural holes on performance. Second, we address a significant gap by analyzing how the content of ties shapes entrepreneurial outcomes, responding to calls in the literature for further research in this area (Jack, 2009; O’Donnell et al., 2001; Uzzi and Lancaster, 2003). Finally, this study contributes to the predominantly Western and high-technology-focused body of research by examining a low-technology context within an emerging economy.

Publication Date

1-1-2012

DOI

10.5465/AMBPP.2012.24

Publisher

Academy of Management

Keywords

Entrepreneurship, Rural Entrepreneurs, Network structures, Multiplex ties

Conference

72nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management: 3-7 August, 2012, Boston, Massachusetts

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