1 Innovation networks and alliance management Lecture 7/ Assignment 2 Advice networks and Innovation

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Innovation networks and alliance management

Lecture 7/ Assignment 2

Advice networks and Innovation

2TU/e - Innovation in networks and alliance management, 0ZM05/0EE10

Innovation in Networks: course structure

Part I: introduction and theory

Part II: techniques of (social network) data analysis

Part III: three empirical applications of social network analyses in innovation science and alliance management

[1] alliances between firms (GR) [2] advice networks and innovation (UM) [3] interlocked board networks of American firms (CS)


A Recap: Two Approaches to Network Analysis Complete Networks

The relations of all actors are taking into account

Existing data (archival) Case study (f.i. a family or

this class)

Ego centered network Network from the

perspective of the actor Extension of traditional

survey instruments Random sampling possible Standard statistical

analysis possible


The Assignment: We analyze What makes it more likely that an

entrepreneur introduces a new product or service to the market??

the case: Uganda.


Uganda: 31 million inhabitants

substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt

Agriculture most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force

Christians made up about 84% of Uganda's population in 2002

young population, with a median age of 15 (!)years


Uganda:

During 1990 - 2001, the economy grew because of continued investment in the rehabilitation of

infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, and gradually improved domestic security

Growth for 2001 - 2002 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee

in 2004 Uganda's GDP per-capita reached $300, a much higher level than in the Eighties but still at half of Sub-Saharan African average income of 600 dollars per year


The Assignment

Think of ways in which the ego-centerd network of an entrepreneur may influence

- the likelihood of product or service innovation -

Derive at least two hypotheses. Make use of ideas of Burt's (2001, 2004) theory of structural holes and of another social network theory.

Test those hypotheses using the dataset we provide. SPSS data set “entrepreneurs-2008.sav”:

File contains 724 cases (rows) information about the entrepreneur, his/her demographic

background, his/her ego-centered network characteristics, personality, and characteristics of the market.


The report report must resemble a scientific article

Introduction [10 points] products and service innovation by entrepreneurs and why

social networks might play a role in explaining them Theory [30 points]

theoretical framework, derive at least two hypotheses concerning the effect of two ego-centered network characteristics on the emergence of innovating behavior

Method [15 points] Describe the data, the measurements, and the statistical

methods. Results [25 points]

Present descriptives/the results of the analysis, by means of table/picture, and a verbal clarification of the table/picture.

Discussion/Conclusion [20 points] What do the results say about your theory? Would it make

sense to run other analysis? How could one improve this study? How valid/reliable are its results?


Read Burt (2004), can be found on the website Read earlier articles on social network theories Optional: look for additional articles/theories

Formulate a (ego-centered) social network theory that explains why some entrepreneurs are more likely to innovate than others.

Be clear Use sound arguments Be creative

The theory


Logistics

You can work in groups of two or three students

Plagiarizm will be punished

DEADLINE: December 4, 13:00 (extension)

WORD-ATTACHMENT (WORD 2003!) EMAILBOX Uwe Matzat ([email protected])

I am available for questions:

Pav. Q 1.09./ [email protected]


The data set

Information about innovating behavior of 724 entrepreneurs in Uganda, demographic background, personality, market characteristics



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INNOVATION


THE NETWORKS

From time to time, entrepreneurs seek advice on important business matters. Looking back over the last six months– who are the people with whom you

discussed an important business matter?


THE NETWORKSPlease think about the relationships between the people you just mentioned. For each contact, ask if this contact is a STRANGER (S), CLOSE (K) OR ESPECIALLY CLOSE (EC) to the other persons.

Maybe another way to calculate density makes more sense? (see SPSS job)


Select the dependent variable: INNOVATION (summary of IN1-IN4)

Calculate (compute) some network characteristics

Include a limited number of control variables (personality, demographics, characteristics of the market, etc.)


The data preparation

You only have to work with SPSS!

However, you definitely have to transform the given data set, for example by creating new variables with the “compute” command within SPSS. So a considerable amount of work consists of data recoding and data transformation to compute the appropriate network characteristics that you think are important.

Have a look at the hints for measuring network characteristics: “network calculations” at the course website

Have a look at examples of spss jobs

Adjust them to your needs!


The assignment

QUESTIONS?

Documents

1 Innovation networks and alliance management Lecture 7/ Assignment 2 Advice networks and Innovation