The Dynamics of Structural Holes: Status and Technology Asymmetry

Existing research has demonstrated that firms can benefit from spanning structural holes, gaining either control benefits through playing one actor against another, or resource benefits acquired from diverse partners. However, little is known about the dynamics of this network structure and the conditions under which structural holes form and develop. Inspired by these research gaps, this paper builds a theoretical model to analyze the key drivers of structural hole dynamics. This paper investigates two dominant drivers of the development of structural holes from both institutional theory and the resourced-based view, as well as the influence of structural holes on exploratory and exploitative innovation. To test this model, I used a panel of 177 U.S. biopharmaceutical focal firms and 2,586 alliances from the period spanning 1988 to 2006. This paper has some innovations. It extends network theory by identifying two key drivers of structural holes and shedding new light on network genesis and dynamics. It ...