结构洞、网络多样性与企业技术标准化能力

Structural holes, network diversity and firms′ technological standardization capability

基于中国汽车产业标准联盟网络中所有车辆生产企业1999至2013年的数据,采用负二项随机效应回归模型,实证分析标准联盟网络结构洞位置和多样性构成如何影响企业技术标准化主导能力和跟随能力。结果表明:标准联盟网络结构洞对两类技术标准化能力均有正向影响;网络多样性负向影响技术标准化主导能力,但正向影响技术标准化跟随能力;网络多样性正向调节结构洞对技术标准化主导能力的正向影响,但却负向调节结构洞对技术标准化跟随能力的正向影响。研究结论是对标准化理论体系的有益补充,也为企业构筑适配的标准联盟网络以实施技术标准化主导战略和跟随战略提供有价值参考。

Standard-setting alliances are important channels for external resource acquisition, having vital effects on firm′s technological standardization capabilities. The literature of standardization collaboration mainly focuses on the incentives of joining standardization alliances, and the effect of participation in standardization alliances on firm performance. This stream of research has helped to explain why participating in standard-setting alliances may shape a firm′s technological standardization capability, but it has largely ignored that a firm′s capability in technology standardization process will differ because of differentiated structure and composition features of standard-setting alliance network. This study is designed to address this research gap and gain further understanding about how structural holes and network diversity affect firms′ technological standardization dominant capability and following capability. The focus of the paper is on the formal standardization process as opposed to de facto standardization, as formal standards play an increasingly important role in industry development and national economic growth in Europe, China and other emerging markets. The research setting for this study is the Chinese automobile industry. Firms in this industry are involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. The automobile industry is a technology-intensive industry where formal standards have important repercussions for firm performance, and the highly-complex and multicomponent products in this industry determines that technical standards need collaborations between firms, suppliers, customers and other organizations. Hypotheses are tested based on a panel data set of 170 Chinese vehicle manufacturers from 1999 to 2013. This study estimates random-effects panel data models to accounts for unobserved heterogeneity by allowing for individual effects. And because the dependent variables are count variables and exhibit overdispersion, a negative binomial regression is adopted to estimate the parameters. The major findings are discussed as follows. First, a firm′s structural holes in its standard-setting alliance network have a significant positive impact on the firm′s technological standardization dominant capability and following capability. Bridging structural holes can offer a firm higher status and power in the standard setting process, helping the firm to explore technological cooperation opportunities and assisting leading firms to promote standards, thus improving its dominant capability and following capability for technology standardization. Therefore, firms who adopt dominant standardization strategy or following standardization strategy, should give priority to unconnected partners to form standard-setting alliances, transforming exclusive interfirm partnerships into standardization competitiveness. Second, the diversity of a firm′s standard-setting alliance network negatively affects the firm′s standardization dominant capability, whereas positively affects the firm′s standardization following capability. Collaborating with diverse types of partners will weaken a firm′s discourse power in standard setting process, and reduce the firm′s dominant capability for formal standardization. However, heterogeneous partners can provide abundant diverse knowledge, increasing a firm′s standardization following capability by helping the leading firms to improve their technical solutions. Therefore, a firm who adopt dominant standardization strategy should collaborate with partners of the same type to improve the firm′s status within the industry and its ability to coordinate network resources. And a firm who adopt following standardization strategy should maintain connections with diverse types of partners, enhancing standardization following capability through network diversity increasement. Third, a firm embedded in a standard-setting alliance network with more structural holes will capture greater benefits from its network with a high level of diversity to improve the firm′s standardization dominant capability but will acquire fewer advantages of a high level of network diversity, when the firm focus on increasing standardization following capability. Firms should not blindly choose diversified partners to build network bridges for enhancing standardization dominant capability, because increasing network diversity will bring indirect positive effects as well as direct negative effects. Also, firms should not excessively cooperate with similar partners to form structural holes for enhancing the standardization following capability, because reducing network diversity will decrease the negative joint effects of structural holes and network diversity as well as the direct positive effects. In practice, absolute ‘good position’ and ‘optimal network composition’ usually cannot coexist, firms should understand the interaction rules of related factors and form a satisfactory network arrangement according their strategic objectives. Overall, these findings sketch a nuanced picture of the value of structural holes and network diversity, providing several important theoretical implications. Firstly, by understanding how the network structure and composition affect a firm’s standardization dominant capability and following capability, this study extends the literature of standardization, providing guidance for firms about how to build suitable networks to promote different standardization strategies. Secondly, prior studies about the effect of network diversity still provide conflicting results. This study addresses this limitation and find that network diversity differs in its effect on different types of standardization capabilities. Thirdly, this study contributes our understanding of the theories of network resource and social capital. The impact of structural holes should be understood relative to a particular level of network diversity.