The thesis harnesses the insights of network analysis to clarify how and when the attributes of a firm's position shape its performance and its innovative behavior. Using longitudinal data on the personal computer industry, which is described in chapter two, chapter three identifies the main effects and complex interplay of two attributes of a firm's role in a system of competitive relations: (a) its size relative to that of its structurally equivalent rivals and (b) its level of diversification. The results show first that, net of absolute size, relative size raises sales growth; second, that the main effect of scope is positive; and third, that the effect of scope follows an inverted U-shaped pattern over the distribution of relative size. Diversification thus lowers growth when firms are relatively small, raises growth after a threshold before a maximum, but has a negative effect again for extreme levels of relative size. Theories of diversification, which have been disparate historically, are integrated and jointly find support in the analysis. Chapter four then addresses the following question: When is a social actor most strongly influenced by its peers? This chapter's results clarify when firms were most strongly affected by the choices of their closest rivals to adopt a well-known technology: Intel's sixth generation processor. Extending prior research on social networks and firm survival chances, it is hypothesized that the effect of adoptions by strategically similar organizations rises with the competitive pressure to which a focal firm is subject. The results then show that the effect of the conduct of comparable firms is greatest on those facing scale-based competition without the advantages of targeting a narrowly defined set of customers. The main implications of these results are that a contingent theory of social influence may be necessary to portray diffusion processes correctly in competitive contexts, and that an actor's sensitivity to the conduct of others may depend not only on its place in an internal hierarchy but also on the nature of its connections to an external audience.
My Research