Networks of advice: the influence of professional service providers on business strategy
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Cronin, Bruce 
ORCID: 0000-0002-3776-8924
(2006)
Networks of advice: the influence of professional service providers on business strategy.
International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, 5 (8).
pp. 33-44.
ISSN 1447-9524 (Print), 1447-9575 (Online)
Abstract
The application of social network theory to strategy innovation has concentrated predominantly on the internationalization process and on supply and distribution networks. The Uppsala school, for example, have highlighted the important role of suppliers and customers as catalysts for internationalization. But while the immediate supply chain encompasses much of the activity and attention of a business, firms are clearly imbedded in a much wider range of social networks. The potential for social networks outside a firm’s immediate supply chain to influence strategic decisions has been acknowledged but rarely tested. This paper moves beyond the immediate supply chain to examine the influence of a range of business advisors on strategy. It is argued that the principal business service providers-bankers, auditors and solicitors-form important
“networks of advice” that generalise practices and strategies among firms. Network influences are tested against a data set of internationalization decisions by large New Zealand firms in the 1972-96 period, a time of major strategic change. Pooled cross-sectional analysis and logistic regression in two periods are employed to identify the influence of distinct advice networks among bankers, auditors and solicitors used by these firms.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | business networks, advice networks, strategy, diffusion, imitation, isomorphism, professional service providers, banks, solicitors, auditors, interlocking directors, |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor |
| Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: | Faculty of Business > Networks and Urban Systems Centre (NUSC) > Centre for Business Network Analysis (CBNA) Faculty of Business > Department of International Business & Economics Faculty of Business |
| Related URLs: | |
| Last Modified: | 14 Oct 2016 09:09 |
| URI: | http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/3475 |
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