Alliance block building and breaking: The role of technological profiles in determining the likelihood of clique spanning ties

Abstract

Clique spanning ties can be expected to have strategic advantages for firms maneuvering themselves in a position as broker between two dense regions of firms. In a sample of semiconductor cliques (ASIC) from 1987 to 2000 we examined the independent effects of technological -, firm -, ego network -, and clique level characteristics on the formation of new cliques spanning ties. We found strong evidence that,technology is a reason to restructure alliance networks by establishing new ties that cut across cliques.