臺大管理論叢 NTU Management Review VOL.30 NO.1

Entrepreneurial Networking Actions and Innovativeness of Opportunities: The Moderator Role of Venture Stage 38 1. Introduction Social networks have been among the key topics in entrepreneurship for a long time (Hoang and Antoncic, 2003; Hoang and Yi, 2015; Stuart and Sorenson, 2007). Previous studies primarily focus on network content, governance and structure, and network processes to understand the purposes and applications of social networks (Hoang and Antoncic, 2003; Slotte-Kock and Coviello, 2010). However, most studies regard the social networks of entrepreneurs exogenous to their entrepreneurial work, focusing on investigating the information or resource efficiency accorded by existing networks (Ma, Huang, and Shenkar, 2011; Ozgen and Baron, 2007) but overlooking the formation and evolution of networks by entrepreneurs in the early stages of forming a business (Newbert, Tornikoski, and Quigley, 2013; Stuart and Sorenson, 2007). In a “from nothing to something” context, social networks of entrepreneurs are different from the abundant network relationships and positions that established firm owners can apply. Entrepreneurs must have a strong understanding of how to develop and engage in networking actions (Stuart and Sorenson, 2007; Vissa, 2012). Recent entrepreneurship and network studies address the agentic perspective (Vissa and Bhagavatula, 2012). This stream of research highlights how relevant the actions of entrepreneurs is to creating and shaping personal network ties. For example, Ozcan and Eisenhardt (2009) analyze network strategies and strategic actions to fill the research gaps created by treating network structures as exogenous. They indicate that actors strategically develop and evolve their network relationships on the basis of their capabilities. Vissa (2012) investigates the differences in the dependency of entrepreneurs on referrals when selecting various networking actions (i.e., network deepening and broadening) and searching for new economic exchange partners. This study suggests that the social networks of entrepreneurs are actively and strategically constructed by performing networking actions. We address recent requests for a more complete understanding of networking actions (Vissa, 2012; Vissa and Bhagavatula, 2012). The actions that entrepreneurs perform to develop their personal networks are solely focused on existing or new ties. Social networks are a source of acquiring tangible and intangible resources, such as social capital, emotional support, and reputation (Ma et al., 2011). In addition, many actors use social networks to enter particular industries and understand major technology, market, and policy changes in those industries (Ozgen and Baron, 2007). Therefore, social networks are crucial for new ventures because networking influences resource