E-WoM and 2.0 Opinion Leaders

The arrival of the World Wide Web has intensified word-of-mouth communication. Thanks to consumers, information flows without geographical or temporal boundaries. The influence of the mass media has receded and that of the Web 2.0 has emerged with force. Opinion leaders are individuals who have become points of reference in these social networks. They exert influence and disseminate information, and they are a source of new ideas. This article presents a methodological procedure that combines the research of opinion leader 2.0 features with advances in social network analysis. In addition, some findings, further research, and managerial implications are discussed.     

中国企业规模分布的形态及特征分析

中国的企业规模分布大体上服从于对数正态分布,这也充分支持了Robert Gibrat提出的规模分布理论。但是中国的企业规模分布也呈现出了一些新的特征,比如大企业大而不强、产业市场集中度偏低、大企业在衡量指标及在产业中的分布不均衡等。正确认识中国企业规模分布形态并把握企业规模的发展态势,对引导中国企业规模定位具有现实意义。     

Investigating the associations between road network structure and non-motorist accidents

Road networks channel traffic flow and can impact the volume and proximity of walking and bicycling. Therefore, the structure of road networks—the pattern by which roads are connected—can affect the safety of non-motorized road users. To understand the impact of roads’ structural features on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, this study analyzes the associations between road network structure and non-motorist-involved crashes using data from 321 census tracts in Alameda County, California. Average geodesic distance, network betweenness centrality, and an overall clustering coefficient were calculated to quantify the structure of road networks. Three statistical models were developed using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) technique for the three structural factors, in addition to other zonal factors including traffic behavior, land use, transportation facility, and demographic features. The results indicate that longer average geodesic distance, higher network betweenness centrality, and a larger overall clustering coefficient were related to fewer non-motorist-involved accidents. Thus, results suggest that: (1) if a network is more highly centered on major roads, there will be fewer non-motorist-involved crashes; (2) a network with a greater average number of intersections on the shortest path connecting each pair of roads tends to experience fewer crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists; and (3) the more clustered road networks are into several sub-core networks, the lower the non-motorist crash count. The three structural measurements can reflect the configuration of a network so that it can be used in other network analyses. More information about the types of road network structures that are conducive to non-motorist traffic safety can help to guide the design of new networks and the retrofitting of existing networks. The estimation results of GWR models explain the spatial heterogeneity of correlations between explanatory factors and non-motorist crashes, which can support regional agencies in establishing local safety policies.     

When is betweenness centrality useful to firms pursuing technological diversity? An internal-resources view

This study examines situations in which betweenness centrality (BC) is useful for firms pursuing technological diversity. Given the role of BC in firms’ access to external technological knowledge, the study explores the extent to which R&D and manufacturing resources, technological strength, and financial slack moderate the relationship between BC and technological diversity. The results show that BC alone does not exert a positive effect on technological diversity. Furthermore, R&D resources, technological strength, and financial slack each positively moderate the relationship between BC and technological diversity, whereas manufacturing resources do not. Identifying the influential moderators of internal resources should enable firms to harness the benefits of BC. Thus, firms should possess such internal resources to further their technological diversity through BC.     

The Contingent Effects of Social Network Sparseness and Centrality on Managerial Innovativeness

Prior research has highlighted that network sparseness and network centrality enhance innovativeness through access to information and influence, respectively. We advance this perspective by exploring the extent to which individual actions are needed to mobilize information and influence accessed through social networks, and whether such information and influence would mutually reinforce to enhance managerial innovativeness. Our findings found partial support for the idea that actions are needed to actualize potential resources embedded in social networks, as centrally positioned managers enjoy higher innovativeness when they engage in ambassador activities. We also found that advice network sparseness and advice network centrality had independent, not interactive relationships with managerial innovativeness, suggesting that they offer distinct routes to achieving managerial innovativeness. Overall, our research clarifies the relationships of two important social network attributes on managerial innovativeness, and also sheds new light on how managerial action matters in realizing social network advantages for innovative ends.     

Passion Isn't Always a Good Thing: Examining Entrepreneurs' Network Centrality and Financial Performance with a Dualistic Model of Passion

We propose a conceptual model that links entrepreneurs' passion, network centrality, and financial performance, and test this model with small business managers in formal business networking groups. Drawing on the dualistic model of passion, we explore the relationships that harmonious and obsessive passion have with financial performance, mediated by network centrality. Results indicate that harmoniously passionate entrepreneurs had higher out‐degree centrality in their networking group (i.e., they were more inclined to seek out members to discuss work issues), which increased the income they received from peer referrals and, ultimately, business income. Obsessively passionate entrepreneurs had lower in‐degree centrality (i.e., they were less likely to be approached by peers), and in turn received less income from referrals and less business income. These findings highlight that entrepreneurial passion does not always result in positive financial outcomes – the type of passion makes a difference. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

An analysis of the evolution of global financial network of the coordinated portfolio investment survey

In this study, we construct a directional global financial network using portfolio investment data from more than 200 countries during the first two decades of the 21st century and analyze the properties of the network. Through macroscopic analysis, we show that the network became denser and could be divided into central and peripheral groups. Microscopic analysis shows that, in addition to well-known financial-central countries, relatively less well-known countries played important roles in the global financial network. Further, each country's per capita GDP is positively correlated with its centrality in the network, and the correlation is stronger when measured with inbound investments than when measured with outbound investments.     

Top management team’s formal network and international expansion of Chinese firms: The moderating role of state ownership and political ties

This article explores the role of the formal network centrality of top management teams (TMT) for foreign expansion, looking at the case of Chinese firms. The former is defined by the degree to which top managers are connected with TMTs of other firms in formal ways, through service as independent board members. We explore boundary conditions, comparing state ownership with political ties. The analysis of a panel data of 489 firms expanding to 72 developed and developing host markets in the period 2000–2012 confirms that network centrality facilitates internationalization. We found that TMT network centrality had a stronger effect on internationalization in developed than emerging markets. Conversely, state ownership had a positive moderating effect in the latter and political ties a negative effect in developed ones. The literature on comparative institutional analysis suggests that formal ties are more important in developed economies, and informal ties in emerging ones. However, formal political ties and/or links to the Chinese state may be more of value in internationalizing into other emerging markets, where the balance of diplomatic power may be more skewed in China’s favor.     

Tax evasion and tax morale: A social network analysis

We study the effects of tax morale and social norms on tax evasion when individuals interact in a network. We present a model that incorporates incentives for tax compliance in the form of punishment and fines, tax morale, and reputation for social behaviour. We assume that individuals adjust their tax morale by observing the neighbours' tax morale. We simulate the model for different values of the parameters and show that the steady-state share of taxpayers as opposed to tax-evaders is affected by the probability of finding like-minded peers in the reference group (network integration), the weight that individuals attribute to reputation, and the share of individuals who update their tax morale. Last, we consider the possibility of a fiscal authority using the knowledge of the network structure and targeting ‘central’ individuals. We show that by positively affecting the tax morale of individuals whose influence within the network is high, a fiscal authority can increase tax compliance.     

中国与南亚东南亚国家高技术产品贸易网络研究

南亚东南亚国家是“一带一路”沿线的重要国家,与中国具有紧密的贸易联系,高技术产品是中国与该区域国家的重要贸易产品。使用UNcomtrade2017年数据,应用贸易网络分析方法,从入度、中介中心性、紧密中心性,特征向量中心性四个指标,分析了各国南亚东南亚国家高技术产品贸易的网络特征。结果表明以不同指标衡量的中国、新加坡两国在高技术产品进出口网络中处于核心地位,其中两国是其他国家高技术产品出口的重要目标市场,而中国是其余国家高技术产品最大进口来源国。