Network pathways of peripheral firm entry: Empirical evidence from the global airline industry
研究了行业颠覆性事件如何影响外围企业通过联盟进入网络核心的路径，基于258家航空公司的纵向数据和随机行动者模型，发现多种进入模式，对网络动态理论和实践有启示。
Previous research on interfirm collaboration indicates that networks tend to be structurally stable due to path dependence and embedded firms' incentives to preserve their positional advantages. As a result, industry networks often resemble a core-periphery structure where peripheral firms seem to have little or no opportunity to access the core. Yet, under certain conditions, peripheral firms do manage to cross over to the industry center. In this paper, we examine one such condition: a sudden and unexpected change in the external environment. More specifically, we examine the relationship between the occurrence of an industry-level disruptive event and the dynamics of tie formation/dissolution facilitating or inhibiting peripheral firms' progress toward the center of the industry network. We substantiate our investigation by using longitudinal data on the alliance activities of 258 airlines and applying Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models (SAOM). We integrate our statistical analysis with interview material and descriptive network analysis. The findings reveal a variety of patterns of network entry, contributing novel insights to theories on network dynamics, innovation, as well as policy and practice.