Network centrality, organizational innovation, and performance: A meta‐analysis

• Author: Jie Zhao,Haifeng Wang,Chuanjia Li,Yuan Li
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1316
• Published date: 01 September 2015
• Date: 01 September 2015

Network centrality, organizational innovation, and

performance: A meta-analysis

Haifeng Wang*

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Jie Zhao

Xidian University

Yuan Li

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Chuanjia Li

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Abstract

Based on samples from 40 studies encompassing 15,860 or-

ganizations, we use meta-analysis methods to examine the

relationships between network centrality, organizational in-

novation, and performance, and to predict the inf‌luence of

organization size, institutional environment, and industry

on these relationships. Results show that network centrality

positively inf‌luences both organizational innovation and

performance. In addition, f‌indings indicate that the impact

of network centrality on organizational innovation is stron-

ger for small organizations while that on organizational

performance is stronger for large organizations. The inf‌lu-

ence of network centrality on overall organizational

innovation/performance is stronger for organizations in de-

veloped institutional environments as well as in knowledge-

intensive industries. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: network centrality, innovation, performance,

meta-analysis

Résumé

Cet article utilise les méthodes de la méta-analyse pour ex-

aminer les relations entre la centralité du réseau,

l’innovation organisationnelle et la performance et pour

prédire l’inf‌luence que la taille de l’entreprise,

l’environnement institutionnel et l’industrie ont sur ces rela-

tions. Il s’appuie sur des échantillons provenant de 40 études

comprenant 15 860 entreprises. Les résultats révèlent que la

centralité du réseau inf‌luence positivement l’innovation

organisationnelle et la performance. Par ailleurs, l’impact

de la centralité du réseau sur l’innovation organisationnelle

est plus fort pour les petites entreprises tandis que l’impact

sur la performance organisationnelle est plus fort pour les

grandes entreprises. L’inf‌luence de la centralité du réseau

sur l’innovation/la performance organisationnelle globale

est plus forte pour les entreprises qui évoluent dans des

environnements institutionnels développés et dans les indus-

tries à fort coeff‌icient de savoirs. Copyright © 2015 ASAC.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mots-clés : centralité du réseau, innovation, performance,

méta-analyse

Recent decades have witnessed escalating interest in

exploring the impacts of interorganizational network

on organizational innovation and performance (Borgatti

& Halgin, 2011). Network structure—considered a poten-

tially important source of information, knowledge,

resource, or competitive advantage—provides both oppor-

tunities and threats for organizations (Bae & Gargiulo,

2004; Reagans & McEvily, 2003; Spencer, 2003), and

thus can inf‌luence innovation and performance (Ahuja,

2000; Baum, Rowley, & Shipilov, 2004; Koka & Prescott,

2008; Phelps, 2010; Shipilov, 2009). Network centrality,

viewed as a key dimension of network structure in

existing literature (Carpenter, Li, & Jiang, 2012; Rodan

& Galunic, 2004), is characterized as a specif‌ic ego’s

power relative to other network members or “alters,”as

referred to by Kenis and Knoke (2002) (Freeman, 1979),

and has received much attention (Gilsing, Nooteboom,

Vanhaverbeke, Duysters, & van den Oord, 2008).

However, there is debate on whether network centrality

can appropriately enhance organizational innovation and

performance in the existing literature (Ibarra, 1993; Uzzi,

1997). Lechner, Frankenberger, and Floyd (2010) suggested

that social network centrality could be seen as an advanta-

geous position for informal inf‌luence, information diversity,

and abundant knowledge (Lazer & Friedman, 2007). How-

ever, other scholarsargue that this favourable position created

by an open social structure might introduce harmful effects

such as opportunism, information “over-search,”and conf‌lict

(Ahuja, 2000; Iselin 1989; Koput, 1997; Lechner et al.,

2010). Meanwhile, existing empirical f‌indings have provided

We gratefully acknowledge the sponsorship provided by the National

Nature Science Foundation of China (71132006, 71421002).

*Please address correspondence to: Haifeng Wang, Antai College of

Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai,

200052, China. Email: huayunkong@sjtu.edu.cn

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

32: 146–159 (2015)

Published online 12 May 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1316

Can J Adm Sci

32(3), 146–159 (2015)Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 146