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Focusing on inter-firm networking, this paper analyzes how the structuring of external relations and internal resources affects firm performance. While previous studies from single fields have focused on one of these specific mechanisms, we concomitantly present and compare the two mechanisms ?V network portfolio and resource endowment ?V to study their moderating effects on the relation between sole external networks and firm performance. Our analysis shows several important findings. Our first finding shows that although the external R&D ties lead to better firm performance, the positive effect would decrease after the threshold. Our second finding suggests that network portfolio moderates the relation between external networks and firm performance, revealing that a diverse portfolio of relations a firm constructs prevents it from relying on specific sole external networks such as external R&D ties. Our third finding indicates that resource endowment also moderates the relation between sole external networks and firm performance, showing that a large number of patents a firm holds keep it from depending on the specific external relations. More importantly, as resource endowment complements network portfolio, both are required by firms to effectively strategize their actions in order to manage the potential impact of over-dependence on sole external networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do firms' external networks matter for their entrepreneurial orientation? This study advances research on external networks and entrepreneurial orientation by examining how a portfolio of network relationships contribute to entrepreneurial orientation at firm level. Using survey data from 168 Chinese firms, the regression results demonstrate that not all external networks contribute equally to entrepreneurial orientation, which have implications for management theory, practice and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]