When Unconnected Others Connect: Does Degree of Brokerage Persist After the Formation of a Multipartner Alliance?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Yin, Xiaoli; Wu, Jianfeng; Tsai, Wenpin
• 署名单位: City University of New York (CUNY) System; Baruch College (CUNY); University of International Business & Economics; Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); Pennsylvania State University; Pennsylvania State University - University Park
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0711
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 1682-1699
• 关键词: brokerage; networks; multipartner alliances

摘要

In contrast with previous research that emphasizes brokerage benefits by keeping other actors separated, this study investigates the conditions in which the degree of brokerage persists in subsequent network development when previously disconnected actors are no longer kept separate in a multipartner alliance setting. Analyses of longitudinal alliance data collected from 95 firms in the aircraft, airline, chemical, and energy industries suggest that after forming a multipartner alliance through an industry-sponsored e-marketplace, a firm with greater prior brokerage is more likely to remain influential and persist in its degree of brokerage in the subsequent alliance network when (1) the multipartner alliance has more partners and (2) size heterogeneity among partners is either low or high. The findings add to network research by offering a refined understanding of brokerage dynamics.