Knowledge spillover in corporate financing networks: Embeddedness and the firm's debt performance

Brian Uzzi*, James J. Gillespie

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

350 Scopus citations

Abstract

Building on social embeddedness theory, we examine how the competencies and resources of one corporate actor in a network are transferred to another actor that uses them to enhance transactions with a third actor-a strategic process we dub 'network transitivity.' Focusing on the properties of network transitivity in the context of small-firm corporate finance, we consider how embedded relations between a firm and its banks facilitate the firm's access to distinctive capabilities that enable it to strategically manage its trade-credit financing relationships. We apply theory and original case-study fieldwork to explore the types of resources and competencies available through bank-firm relationships and to derive hypotheses about how embedded bank-firm relationships affect the strategy of small-to medium-sized firms. Using a separate large-scale data set, we then test the generalizability of our hypotheses. Our qualitative analyses show that embedded bank-firm ties provide special governance arrangements that facilitate the firm's access to bank-centered informational and capital resources, which uniquely enhance the firm's ability to manage trade credit. Consistent with our arguments, our statistical analyses show that small-to medium-sized firms with embedded ties to their bankers were more likely to take lucrative early-payment trade discounts and avoid costly late-payment penalties than were similar firms that lacked embedded ties-suggesting that social embeddedness beneficially affects the financial performance of the firm.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)595-618
Number of pages24
JournalStrategic Management Journal
Volume23
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2002

Keywords

  • Alliances
  • Embeddedness
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Finance
  • Networks

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Business and International Management
  • Strategy and Management

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