Startups networking: When to act?

Tamara Oukes, Ariane von Raesfeld

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

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Abstract

Previous studies showed that despite of startups liabilities of newness and smallness, which make it more difficult to know how and when to act, they still have room for taking action in their relationships. Existing research into established firms showed that the decision to act in a particular way is influenced by both the willingness and ability to act. The rationale underlying a particular action is expected to be different for startups than for established firms because of their fundamentally different characteristics. Therefore, the question addressed in this paper is: when does a startup act in a particular way in interaction with its partners? This question is addressed developing a comprehensive research model including the rationale underlying the particular actions. Then, the model is validated by investigating the interactions between a Dutch startup and its partners from both sides. In this way, the interactive nature of networking and the different perceptions of the startup and its partners can be captured. The findings show that there are both similarities in the rationale underlying action of the startup and its partners. For example, the startup was especially more likely to acquiesce than its established partners when it was asymmetrically dependent on them, while the partners were more likely to compromise when there was mutual dependence. And a startup has to directly and actively involve the partners action and their underlying rationale in its decision to act in a particular as action always takes place in an interaction process.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages22
Publication statusPublished - 25 Aug 2015
Event31th Annual IMP Conference and Doctoral Colloquium 2015 - University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, Denmark
Duration: 25 Aug 201529 Aug 2015
Conference number: 31

Conference

Conference31th Annual IMP Conference and Doctoral Colloquium 2015
Country/TerritoryDenmark
CityKolding
Period25/08/1529/08/15

Keywords

  • METIS-310725
  • IR-96106

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