تجزیه و تحلیل شبکه های اجتماعی ادارات اینترلاک در شرکت های تجارت الکترونیک

Using social network analysis, this research examines whether a pattern of interlocked directorates exists among the top 50 e-commerce firms and how this network differs from the network of other leading firms. Further, it looks at whether a firm’s measure of centrality is associated with its visibility. The results suggest that the location of e-commerce firms in these networks is more important than simply the number of ties. The findings point to the role of e-commerce firms in establishing links between both firms and industries. These findings also suggest that e-commerce firms are most interesting to study when looked at in terms of a larger network of firms, and that it is in the ties between the e-commerce and the traditional and well-established firms where many potential research opportunities lie.

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) and the organizations that form the foundation of the ‘digital economy’ have moved to the forefront of organizational research over the past several years. Changes, including the proliferation of the Internet, show promise of transforming traditional organizational and industry structures. For quite some time it appeared as though the traditional economic rules did not apply to these e-commerce companies. While much of the hype surrounding these organizations has dissipated, there is still significant interest in the new economy. One important element of the new economy is the relationship between the organizations that are leaders in the area. This exploratory research utilizes social network analysis to investigate relationships between organizations as captured by interlocked directorates. Interlocked directorates, defined as firms who share one or more board of director members, have been the focus of research since the turn of the last century [1]. This paper looks at how these relationships occur among organizations in the ‘new economy’. The aims of this research are multifold. First, we are interested in whether among the top 50 e-commerce firms a pattern of interlocked directorates exists and how this network differs from the network of other leading firms. Second, we examine how the characteristics of the network change when the members of the boards of directors of the top 50 ‘traditional’ firms are added. Finally, we look at how position in the network is related to a firm’s visibility measured as the number of times a firm is cited in the Wall Street Journal. This measure is particularly appropriate for e-commerce firms, which have often employed strategies focused on gaining name recognition rather than profitability. Additionally we examine how these measures and relationships change between a network of strictly top e-commerce firms and a network including top traditional firms. While prior research on interlocked directorates has studied firms in traditional industries, this research looks at firms within the e-commerce industry. Furthermore, not only does this research look at the relationships among the top e-commerce firms, it also examines the links between these new economy firms and firms in traditional industries. From an academic perspective, this paper is significant as it furthers the research conducted on e-commerce in general and more specifically on interlocked directorates within the scope of e-commerce. A further contribution of this research lies in its potential significance for practitioners. This research may provide insights to e-commerce firms with respect to the importance of location within a network and how this location may influence the relationships that form among firms in the network.

In summary, this study used a social network approach to examine (1) whether the boards of directors of the top e-commerce firms were interlocked, (2) how the e-commerce firms network differed from the traditional firms network, (3) whether a firm’s measure of centrality was associated with its visibility and (4) whether this association between centrality and visibility differed from the network containing only the e-commerce firms and the network including the e-commerce and the traditional firms. Interestingly, what this research shows is that it is most salient to look at e-commerce firms in the larger context of traditional and e-commerce firms. This research suggests that the relationships that exist between e-commerce firms and non-e-commerce firms are what is most important. There are two principal reasons for the occurrence of these bridges between e-commerce firms and firms in traditional industries. First, e-commerce firms and the technologies they use may be seen as playing a role of support to the traditional firms. Therefore, it is important for e-commerce firms to establish relationships with traditional firms in order for them to gain valuable insights into underlying business processes as well as the established reputations of the firms with which they share board members. This may be seen as extremely important considering the relatively young age of most e-commerce firms. Second, e-commerce may be seen as an alternative outlet for traditional firms. Whether conducting business traditionally or electronically technologies are undoubtedly used; however, in the case when business is performed over the Internet the importance of technology becomes even more salient. Therefore, traditional firms have an interest in establishing relationships with e-commerce firms who are able to provide and transfer their know-how and their technical skills to the traditional firms in their quest to conduct business electronically. What emerged from our findings is that e-commerce firms are most interesting to study when looked at in terms of a larger network of firms, and that it is in the ties between the e-commerce firms and the traditional and well-established firms that many potential research opportunities lie. It is this connection with the traditional firms that begs further investigation. This exploratory research has set the stage for further studies involving interlocked directorates and e-commerce firms; future directions could follow several avenues. For instance, knowing which firms are central and powerful figures in a network is essential political knowledge, since it is then possible to identify the coalitions in the network [18]. Recognizing these coalitions and identifying the firms of which they are made is a tool that can be used to gain knowledge about anticipated resistance or support for action or change, be it in the area of new policy or new information technology adoption. If, as suggested by Fiske [19], one can expect that firms that are less central would pay more attention to those that are more central, then by examining the interlocked networks it may be possible to identify firms that will most likely mimic other’s information technology adoption patterns and those that will have a higher propensity to engage in innovation. Furthermore, by examining the network of interlocked directorates, one could trace the path of diffusion of certain technologies and establish how much influence central firms have on the diffusion of IT. Another direction would involve investigating the role of information technologies in maintaining information flow among the interlocked directorates. This research’ focus would be at the individual rather than at the firm level; it would look at how communication between individuals on interlocked directorates is carried out and the role of information technology in maintaining the relationships. While this research looked at members of boards of directors, another potential research path would look at the networks of not only members of board of directors but also the network formed by the executive officers of the firms. In such research, what would be interesting would be to compare inside and outside directors.