Dissertation
A Study of Entrepreneurship Network Development
(2020)
Abstract
There is broad consensus among entrepreneurship scholars of the need to develop
a more complete and integrated understanding of network development and change
processes. This paper presents a study of entrepreneurship network development that
quantifies network capital and network structure as the firm grows. The focus is on the
transformation of entrepreneurship networks and how they develop over time. This
research addresses an important gap in the entrepreneurship literature, where network
relationships and network structure are simultaneously explored, and the dependent
variable is the network itself. By drawing on the proposed arguments of Larson and Starr
(1993) and Hite and Hesterly (2001), this study proposes integrating these two theoretical
models to gain a more cohesive perspective of the evolution of the entrepreneur􀂶s social
network. This would provide scholars the ability to evaluate the various and often
conflicting theoretical arguments, through micro- and macro-level lens, assessing changes
in network ties and patterns of network structure. This research also tests for the moderating
effects of industry environment, using a five-item scale to measure environmental
dynamism. Findings from this research provide limited support for the propositions
presented in the earlier literature, where the focus is on off-line networks. This research
provides evidence that the rapid growth of online social network platforms and the
interplay between offline and online networks have resulted in changing paradigms that
require consideration of new theory that reflects the current business environment, where
online networks have assumed a much greater role and the entrepreneur is less dependent
on the resources and relationships provided by their offline networks.
Disciplines
Publication Date
July 30, 2020
Degree
Doctor of Professional Studies in Business
Department
Lubin School of Business - Pace University
Advisors
Pradeep Gopalakrishna, Imran Chowdhury, Vishal Lala, Peter Johnson, Dawn Mueller
Comments
All rights reserverved - Copyright 2020 Meryl Rosenblatt
Citation Information
Meryl Rosenblatt. "A Study of Entrepreneurship Network Development" (2020) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/meryl-rosenblatt/10/