Abstract: This paper addresses two open questions (Chen and Miller, 2012: 38): “What [role does] national culture… play in influencing the balance between competition and cooperation?” and “How do the “either/or” Western mindset and the “both/and” Eastern perspective inform competitive-cooperative engagements?” Incorporating research on paradoxical cognition and cultural categories, we conducted two studies that found cross-cultural differences (between China and the US) in whether individuals categorize situations as indicators of both cooperation and competition. These categorization differences resulted in different patterns of behavior and different structures of ego-centric networks of managers’ working relationships. Thus, our studies provide a link between culture, cognition and coopetition within organizations.

Abstract: This paper examines how different network ties influence opportunity development in the internationalization process of firms from emerging countries. A conceptual framework is developed by integrating the network theory and international entrepreneurship literature. We provide empirical evidence using a cross-sectional sample of 211 firms in China to test the model. The results show that global network ties have a significant impact on international opportunity exploration, while local network ties enhance international opportunity exploitation. We also find that when firms are active in opportunity exploration, they are capable of enhancing innovativeness and international performance. Additionally, we find that opportunity exploration has a stronger impact on performance than exploitation.

Abstract: This paper proposes a model detailing the relationship between structural social networks, culture, and group performance. It does so in the context of microfinance group lending contracts that were developed for use with small entrepreneurs. It is hypothesized that the structural networks of these borrowing groups impact the probability of loan repayment, but that the role of networks is highly contingent on the cultural contexts in which the network structures occur. I propose a three-part study employing secondary institutional data, a field network survey conducted in rural and urban China, and a framed field experiment also conducted in China to investigate the relationship between network structure and culture.

Abstract: The relational capabilities have long been proposed as an important driver of competitiveness. This study focuses on the network creation and networking activities of several companies linking to a central corporation. The corporation strives to build a fully-integrated food value chain by integrating its different businesses in an effort to enhance its competitiveness and social responsibility in highly turbulent and competitive agri-food industries. Interestingly, the relationship between its different business are multifold. Vertical, horizontal and geographic linkage coexist and overlap.