组织间网络视角下地位研究的发展脉络与未来研究展望

The Research Trend and Future Research on Status from the Perspective of Inter-organizational Network

所谓地位是指不同受众对个体或组织在社会系统中所处位置的社会评价。地位的背后是政治、经济和社会制度所赋予的权力差异,这在社会网络中得以体现并发挥作用,使得社会网络与地位密不可分。聚焦地位与网络的交叉研究,本文系统地梳理了相关文献,从网络伙伴选择、网络关系构建、网络结构属性以及网络运营管理四个方面构建了用以进行地位研究解析的文献分析框架,搭建了网络研究与地位概念间的整合研究框架,并从低地位研究、地位成因研究、动态地位研究、地位维护研究四个维度提出关于地位的未来研究方向,以及新情境下地位研究的新问题。本文综合呈现了地位研究的现有成果,对于把握网络视角下地位研究的进展,为网络与地位的交叉研究提供有前景的方向引导具有重要的理论意义。

As a form of social evaluation, status defined as social standing or professional position has become popularized in the literature, especially in the field of sociology. Management scholars have paid more attention to the attributes of organizational status and provided empirical evidence to provide a more complete view of their influence. Based on this, we review the research trend on status published in top journals and highlight the current issues being tackled by this stream of enquiry. Focusing on the cross-over studies of network and status, this paper builds a literature analysis framework from the perspectives of partner selection, tie formation, network structure and network operation. By dividing the literature into these four parts, it is helpful to analyze the studies on status in the field of network. Based on this, the conceptual framework of network and status has been initiated. It consists of future research from the perspectives of dynamic, low-status, antecedents and status maintenance. Using this conceptual framework, we try to form causal relationships between status constructs and network issues. We provide some synthesis to highlight unsolved problems and research trends that have become prominent and require attention from management scholars. First, the vast majority of firms or individuals who do not have a high status should be paid more attention to. Future research should take low-status organizations as the research object such as underdog entrepreneurs and focus on how they form network relationships with high-status partners. Second, little is known about where status comes from, and how it is created. Future research should focus on the antecedents of status formation from the perspective of network, and whether there is instrumentality in seeking out high status. Third, since status ordering is not stable but can be subject to unexpected and sudden change, it is prospective to study how high-status actors perform after a status loss or a decline in status. It also links to the research of network governance that contributes to status maintenance. This study comprehensively presents the current research of status, which is of great theoretical contribution for clearly grasping the progress of status research from the perspective of network. The framework that is initiated in this paper contributes to future literature review and the cross-over study of network and status. The suggestions on future research provide guidance for status research in the field of network.