Leveraging ties: the contingent value of entrepreneurial teams' external advice networks on Indian software venture performance
研究了创业团队的外部咨询网络如何影响企业绩效，发现跨越结构洞的网络能提升绩效，但效果取决于团队的战略共识和内部凝聚力。
Abstract This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial teams' external networks on their ventures' performance. We first argue that ventures whose entrepreneurial teams span many structural holes in their external advice networks experience higher performance. We then propose that network ties are not uniform in their effect, but rather are contingent on two distinct features of entrepreneurial teams: (i) their strategic consensus—extent of agreement on key goals and strategies within the team—and (ii) internal cohesion—extent of interpersonal friendships within the team. Finally, we propose that team demographics and team networks complement (rather than substitute) each other. Data from Indian software ventures provide support for these arguments. We extend entrepreneurship research by highlighting how venture teams' internal processes and external networks jointly shape performance outcomes. We also add to the literature on team networks by drawing attention to the role of strategic consensus as a distinct pathway through which teams can leverage their external networks.