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Linking network ties to entrepreneurial opportunity discovery and exploitation: the role of affective and cognitive trust

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Abstract

Entrepreneurial opportunity discovery (EODI) and opportunity exploitation (EOEX) are two critical entrepreneurial activities which heavily depend on external social network. The present study provided a nuanced investigation on the roles of affective and cognitive trust in the relationship between network ties (strong and weak ties) and opportunity discovery and exploitation. We examined the hypothesized relationships using longitudinal data collected from a sample of 207 nascent entrepreneurs in China. Our results showed that affective trust mediated the positive effects of network ties on EODI and EOEX. Further, cognitive trust moderated their relationships, that is, high level of cognitive trust enhance the positive relationship between weak ties and EODI as well as the positive relationship between strong ties and EOEX. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research work is supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (71372064, 71221061), by the national science foundation of Hunan Province Project (2015JJ1018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Business School of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Shenggang Ren & Xiaohong Chen

  2. Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Rui Shu

  3. Department of Management, Marketing, and Information Systems, College of Business Administration, University of Alabama Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, 35805, USA

    Yongchuan Bao

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  1. Shenggang Ren
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Correspondence to Rui Shu.

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Ren, S., Shu, R., Bao, Y. et al. Linking network ties to entrepreneurial opportunity discovery and exploitation: the role of affective and cognitive trust. Int Entrep Manag J 12, 465–485 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-014-0350-3

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