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Leveraging ties: the contingent value of entrepreneurial teams' external advice networks on Indian software venture performance
Author(s) -
Vissa Balagopal,
Chacar Aya S.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
strategic management journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 11.035
H-Index - 286
eISSN - 1097-0266
pISSN - 0143-2095
DOI - 10.1002/smj.785
Subject(s) - structural holes , leverage (statistics) , cohesion (chemistry) , new ventures , interpersonal communication , business , entrepreneurship , knowledge management , ambidexterity , marketing , coopetition , demographics , value (mathematics) , centrality , public relations , computer science , psychology , social capital , microeconomics , economics , sociology , social psychology , game theory , political science , social science , mathematics , chemistry , machine learning , demography , organic chemistry , finance , combinatorics
This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial teams' external networks on their ventures' performance. We first argue that ventures whose entrepreneurial teams span many structural holes in their external advice networks experience higher performance. We then propose that network ties are not uniform in their effect, but rather are contingent on two distinct features of entrepreneurial teams: (i) their strategic consensus—extent of agreement on key goals and strategies within the team—and (ii) internal cohesion—extent of interpersonal friendships within the team. Finally, we propose that team demographics and team networks complement (rather than substitute) each other. Data from Indian software ventures provide support for these arguments. We extend entrepreneurship research by highlighting how venture teams' internal processes and external networks jointly shape performance outcomes. We also add to the literature on team networks by drawing attention to the role of strategic consensus as a distinct pathway through which teams can leverage their external networks.