Abstract

Research on interorganizational relationship (IORs) network governance has received wide attention and has led to some important theoretical perspectives. Nevertheless, past research on the whys and wherefores of the “emerging” process of IORs and its network structuring has lacked relevant in-depth discussion, making it difficult to understand the nature and content of IORs network governance. Our research uses the dynamics and process perspectives of actor-network theory (ANT) to explain the development of IORs as a structuring process, which was performed and translated by heterogeneous actors in action to build consensus, deploy interests and enroll each other to form a stable network. Our research uses field data on the introduction and development of technology in Taiwan semiconductor industry to describe the process of structuring IORs network governance. Accordingly, we propose the following two findings that differ from the traditional view of governance. Firstly, the structuring of IORs network governance evolves from the actors’ interaction with their environment through the mechanism of “translation.”; secondly, nonhuman actors are endogenous variables in the development of IORs. Also, we raise some relevant theoretical and practical implications to augment the IORs network governance perspective.  

Keywords

IORs of network governance actor-network theory Taiwan’s semiconductor industry