Speaker:Huang Qihai, Doctor of Lancaster University Management School

Topic:The Change and Development of Entrepreneurial Networks

Time:September 16, 2013, 3:00pm

Location:B228, EMS

Organizer:Department of Business Administration

Abstract:Although network research in entrepreneurship has considered the importance of networks for small firm growth, studies have been criticised for producing contradictory and confusing implications regarding how entrepreneurs should embed in networks and for overlooking the fact that networks are dynamic by nature. In this paper we look to contribute to the literature on network change by exploring the change of networks using three dimensions, structural, relational and spatial. Using the context of entrepreneurial process, we address the issue of how networks change to meet entrepreneurial requirement. A series of entrepreneurial stage, including opportunity recognition, exploitation and organization, were employed and set as a context of this study. To meet our research objectives, a half-day workshop was designed where 64 participants were invited to visualize their networking strategy and show how their networks evolved in certain contexts or experiences. While the overall findings show that networks change and develop during their entrepreneurial process and in response to entrepreneurial requirements, it is evident that network change can be seen independently through different network dimension. With regards to the spatial characteristic, participants develop networks with predominantly close contacts. In terms of the relational dimension, both strong and weak ties are present in the product development process. Regarding the structural characteristic, most entrepreneurs are engaged in networks which are less connected than might be thought. We also found that significant network change during opportunity recognition and exploitation stage has a positive impact on the project performance. While weak ties have an important role during the early stage, entrepreneurs need to develop stronger ties while keep maintaining a high level of network openness. Given the nature of these findings, this study contributes to developing understanding about network change and the effectiveness of networks in supporting entrepreneurial process.

About the Speaker:Dr Qihai Huang is Reader and Head of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development, at Lancaster University Management School. He has degrees from Peking University and the University of Bristol. He was the director of Lancaster University Confucius Institute. His research involves the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods to research entrepreneurship and human resource management.