Network Extensibility: Antecedents and Consequences of Entrepreneurial Networks in Chinese High Technology Firms

This paper presents a qualitative study of high-technology entrepreneurial networks conducted in Beijing, China. In pursuing the question of what kind of entrepreneurial networks is especially conducive to performance in the context of emerging economies, we have developed a new construct called network extensibility, grounded in qualitative evidence collected from field research. Extensibility is defined as the potential for expansion and enlargement of an ego-centric network through existing contacts. In other words, extensibility is the capacity of existing network relationships to yield further relationships. We argue that network extensibility represents a key mechanism by which entrepreneurial networks affect performance, in emerging economies characterized by weak marketsupporting institutions, high uncertainty, low trust, and high velocity. Extensibility renders network ties both ends in themselves and means toward the ends for creation of new ties. The argument, in short, is that entrepreneurial networks in emerging economies tend to radiate out in many directions due to the extensibility multiplier. Moreover, the greater the multiplier, the better the performance of entrepreneurial firms. We then proceed to explore the antecedents of network extensibility including tie strength, entrepreneur’s prior employment, entrepreneur’s university alumnus affiliation, and entrepreneur’s social absorptive capacity. In addition, from the perspective of institutional theory, overseas experience in developed economies is proposed to moderate the effect of tie strength on extensibility.