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This paper develops a concept of a 'multiplex triad,' i.e., a triplet composed of actors playing different roles and interconnected by different kinds of relationships. An example of such triad [...]

Deference within a dyad occurs when one partner acknowledges that the other is entitled to some privileges. Although deference is a well-known consequence of relationships between partners of unequal status, little is known on whether deference in one domain can affect interactions between the same actors in other domains. This can happen within multiplex relationships, especially when they involve firms that have both business and personal interactions between their key decision makers. We combine insights from the literatures on status, multiplex relationships, and competitive positioning to examine how actors' behaviors in a business domain of a multiplex relationship are shaped by the deference norms in a personal domain of the same relationship. We argue that marriages between owner-families of Korean business groups cause deferential behaviors between these families as a function of gender-based status differences within kinship ties. We show empirically that the inter-personal deference resulting from marriage affects business group market entries or exits, and in turn the group's performance. Thus, we shed light on how deference spillovers represent a novel mechanism through which one partner can extract advantage over another within a multiplex relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate the effects of component choices on firms' performance following a negative shock to the ecosystem's alignment structure. We advance a theoretical framework that relates three levels of ecosystem structure—local component interdependence, component clusters, and central components—to the firms' performance. In the setting of the e‐commerce industry impacted by the General Data Protection Regulation, our results support the predictions that a reduction in local component interdependence and an increase in component dispersion across clusters have a positive effect on firm performance, but the impact of an increased use of central components disappears when controlling for local interdependence. These findings contribute to the literature on performance consequences of structures of interdependencies within innovation ecosystems. Managerial summary: We use data on the component choices of e‐commerce firms to study how the structure of the business ecosystem around these components affects firms' performance following a negative shock. We find that while firms which increased interdependence among their components may fare well in a stable environment, their performance will suffer following a negative shock relative to those that are not affected by the shock. Second, firms that draw their components from multiple component clusters perform better during a negative shock relative to those unaffected by the shock. Executives should actively manage the interdependencies among their technological components at different levels. This will help their firms to remain flexible, minimize disruption, allow for innovative recombination and prepare for future technological developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfirm networks often take on characteristics consistent with the notion of a small world—they are locally clustered into dense sub-networks or cliques that are sparsely connected by a small number of ties that cut across the cliques, linking network members through a relatively small number of intermediaries. Are these characteristics an emergent property of interfirm networks that result from chance connections among firms, or more strategic partnering by firms to improve or protect their network positions? After outlining a behavioral account for this frequently observed network topology, we show that the evolving investment bank syndicate network in Canada exhibited small world properties from 1952 to 1990. We then identify the investment bank cliques comprising the network and the 'spanning' ties that cut across them, and test three distinct scenarios that may explain the formation of these ties, which are responsible for the small worldliness of the network: (i) chance partnering of firms in different cliques; (ii) insurgent partnering by peripheral firms to destabilize the network and improve their network positions; and (iii) control partnering by core firms to maintain the network status quo and their positions within it. All three scenarios played a role in explaining the formation of clique-spanning ties; however, chance and insurgent partnering played a greater role in our empirical setting. Our analysis of how small world structures emerge and evolve over time offers new insight into the origins of a prevalent interfirm network topology, and a baseline for constructing future models of interfirm network evolution and dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]