Cross-Border Inter-Firm Networks in Contemporary Europe: The Effects of Structural and Cultural Embeddedness on Firm Performance

Cross-Border Inter-Firm Networks in Contemporary Europe: The Effects of Structural and Cultural Embeddedness on Firm Performance

Ekaterina Turkina
Copyright: © 2014 |Pages: 17
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4979-8.ch012
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Abstract

Globalization and regionalization in the contemporary world transform inter-state relationships and intensify economic, social, and political exchanges across borders, thereby creating favorable conditions for cross-border inter-firm networking. The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the emerging literature on cross-border inter-firm networks by providing both theoretical insights on the causal mechanisms of network-related effects on firm performance and empirical analysis of existing cross-border partnerships in the domain of European integration, as well as their effects on firm performance. The chapter also examines the differences in the structure of European cross-border networks and explores factors that determine network structure such as regional integration and cultural variations.
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Theoretical Approaches To Inter-Firm Networks And Firm Performance In Inter-Firm Networks

Inter-firm networks are considered to be an organizational form with distinct structural properties. They are usually defined as structures consisting of companies linked together through some form of sustained interaction and pursue common objectives, or work towards solving common problems (Huggins, 2001). The number of inter-firm co-operation initiatives has rapidly increased during the past decade (Harbison & Prekar 1998; Brown, 1999; Duysters et al., 1999), and recent studies investigate a variety of issues about inter-firm cooperation such as how and why inter-firm networks are formed (Sydow, 1998), their optimal configuration (Jackson & Wolinsky, 1996), and how they operate (Jones, Hesterley, Fladmoe-Lindquist, & Borgatti, 1998).

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