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

55 NTU Management Review Vol. 30 No. 1 Apr. 2020 The results of this study suggest that different networking actions should be applied on the basis of the life cycle stage of an enterprise. In the early stage, entrepreneurs should endeavor to broaden their network by increasing their interactions with external firms or industries and developing new ties. This contributes to the innovativeness of opportunities. In the late stage, as the number of ties and the number of people referring acquaintances or providing information increases, entrepreneurs should focus on deepening interactions with existing ties to strengthen current relationships and develop embedded relationships (Vissa, 2012). 6. Conclusion The research model in this study is based on insights from the entrepreneurship, social network, and life-cycle literature. By reviewing and compiling the results of previous studies, the study determines that social network research typically concentrates on the benefits of networks to entrepreneurs and organizations, and rarely explores the networking strategies and actions of entrepreneurs (Newbert et al., 2013; Vissa, 2012). Therefore, this study focuses on the networking actions applied by entrepreneurs, investigating the effects that the interactions of various networking ties exert on the innovativeness of opportunities. Qualitative interview data are collected during Study 1. The finding indicates that the venture stage is a crucial variable that influences networking actions and the innovativeness of opportunities. The results of Study 2 indicate that entrepreneurs who perform network broadening actions interact with new network ties (e.g., by participating in conferences or associations to establish cross-domain connections), and combine these ties with ties from other industries or domains, thereby increasing their cross-domain ties and innovativeness of opportunities. In contrast, entrepreneurs who employ network deepening actions tend to focus on developing relationships with existing ties. These circumstances facilitate the establishment of trusting relationships between entrepreneurs and network ties; however, overreliance on relationships may limit the potential benefits of networking (Sullivan and Ford, 2014), negatively influencing innovation. Therefore, the focus of networking actions should be adjusted on the basis of the venture stage to increase the innovativeness of opportunities.