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How Network Strategies and Institutional Transitions Evolve in Asia

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Abstract

This article contributes to the literature on network strategies and institutional transitions in emerging economies in Asia by identifying a realistic, intermediate phase between the early and late phases of institutional transitions suggested by Peng (2003). Focusing on the intermediate phase, we advance two arguments based on network strength and network content. First, in terms of network strength, we leverage earlier insights that networks can be classified as strong ties and weak ties. Consequently, we suggest that as institutional transitions unfold, strong-tie-based networks, instead of being phased out, are being transformed into weak-ties-based networks. Second, from a network content standpoint, we argue that the various scale and scope of institutional transitions shape the content of different networks which focus on business-to-government (B2G) ties and business-to-business (B2B) relationships. Our propositions delineate how different transitions of political and legal institutions affect the evolution of B2G and B2B networks. Overall, we suggest that networks not only differ in strength but also in content, and that their evolution is driven by the impact of different dimensions of institutional transitions governing B2G and B2B relationships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Provost's Distinguished Professor of Global Strategy, School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, Box 830688, SM 43, Richardson, TX, 75083, USA

    Mike W. Peng

  2. Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, 2100 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Jessie Qi Zhou

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  1. Mike W. Peng
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Correspondence to Mike W. Peng.

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Mike W. Peng (Ph.D., University of Washington) is a professor of global strategy at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he holds the university's first ever Provost's Distinguished Research Professorship. He was formerly an associate professor at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. He is the author of nearly 40 scholarly articles and three books, including, most recently, Global Strategy (2006). He has served on the editorial boards of AMJ, AMR, JIBS, and SMJ, and acted as a guest editor for JIBS and JMS. He is the first elected officer of the Global Strategy Interest Group at the Strategic Management Society. This is his fifth contribution to APJM.

Jessie Qi Zhou is a Ph.D. candidate in international business at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Her research interest includes strategy in emerging economies, network strategy, and organizational learning. Her main theoretical interest is institutional theory, with a focus on how institutional distance affects MNE strategies. The comparative analysis of firms' strategic choices across countries in response to different institutional environments is also of particular interest to her. Her work has been presented at the Academy of Management and Academy of International Business conferences.

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Peng, M.W., Zhou, J.Q. How Network Strategies and Institutional Transitions Evolve in Asia. Asia Pacific J Manage 22, 321–336 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-005-4113-0

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