Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the early stage network engagement strategies that new ventures use to gain traction in interaction in the development of network capability.

Design/methodology/approach

Using 24 new ventures in the micro-brewing industry in Ireland, Belgium and the USA as an empirical base, the authors use an inductive case study approach owing to the exploratory nature of the research aim and the lack of prior literature in the area.

Findings

The findings suggest five early stage network engagement process strategies in network capability development: business-to-business network prospecting; co-branding/co-promoting activities; from maker-mindset to adapting; social media platforming; and recognition and activation of network role.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are limited to the micro-brewery sector at one point in time, although in multiple country contexts. Analyzing other sectors and taking a temporal view of strategizing, analyzing the sector at another time point, would show how dynamics in engagement change as the actors acquire new experiences from interaction.

Practical implications

The potential to gain from network resources and the paucity of these resources in new ventures makes early stage engagement strategizing for network capability development an attractive business strategy for new firms. All firms are born within a social network that has economic importance. Identifying the five early stage network engagement strategies can mitigate the challenge for the new venture in moving from the initial social network to collaborating within wider business networks to gain access to resources, technology and customers.

Originality/value

Strategizing in new venture contexts is a relatively new stream of research for the industrial marketing and purchasing group. This paper adds to the growing body of literature that places interaction, relationships and networks at the heart of strategy making and provides important insights for new ventures, which may lead to earlier and greater success for the firms. The authors respond to calls for increased research addressing capability development in a new venture context and for research to take a more interactive perspective on new venture processes.

中文翻译：

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新企业网络能力发展中的早期网络参与策略

目的

本文的目的是确定新企业用于在网络能力开发中获得互动牵引力的早期网络参与策略。

设计/方法/方法

作者以爱尔兰、比利时和美国的 24 家微型酿造行业的新企业为经验基础，由于研究目标的探索性以及该领域缺乏现有文献，采用归纳案例研究方法。

发现

研究结果提出了网络能力发展中的五个早期网络参与过程策略：企业对企业网络勘探；联合品牌/联合推广活动；从创客心态到适应；社交媒体平台；以及网络角色的识别和激活。

研究限制/影响

尽管在多个国家/地区的背景下，调查结果仅限于某一时间点的微型啤酒行业。分析其他部门并采取战略制定的时间观点，在另一个时间点分析该部门，将显示当参与者从互动中获得新经验时，参与的动态如何变化。

实际影响

从网络资源中获益的潜力以及这些资源在新企业中的稀缺性使得网络能力开发的早期参与战略成为新公司有吸引力的商业战略。所有公司都诞生于具有经济重要性的社会网络中。确定五个早期网络参与策略可以减轻新企业从最初的社交网络转变为在更广泛的业务网络中进行协作以获取资源、技术和客户的挑战。

原创性/价值

在新的风险环境中制定战略对于工业营销和采购团队来说是一个相对较新的研究方向。这篇论文补充了越来越多的文献，这些文献将互动、关系和网络置于战略制定的核心，并为新企业提供了重要的见解，这可能会导致公司更早获得更大的成功。作者回应了在新风险环境中增加研究能力发展的呼声，以及对新风险过程采取更具互动性的视角的研究。