Network Structure and Innovative Performance of African Entrepreneurs: The Case of Uganda
Loading...
Date
2012
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of African economies
Abstract
In this study, we examine the impact of social capital on entrepreneurial
innovativeness in an African context. Social capital refers to resources
that are embedded in a durable network of relationships. This article
focuses specifically on the structure of networks. There are two main
views on the relation between network structure and entrepreneurial
performance. One view argues that closed networks are beneficial for
cooperation and resource sharing, which is needed to implement an
innovation, while another view argues that closed networks constrain
entrepreneurs, since it is open networks that provide entrepreneurs
with fresh information and ideas. Based on these arguments, we
hypothesise that the relationship between the degree of constraint of
a network and innovative performance has an inverted U-shape. We
also examine the hypothesis that overlap between personal and business
networks will hamper innovative performance of entrepreneurs
because information will be less diverse and heterogeneous, and because re-distributive kinship obligations may act as a drain on entrepreneurial
resources. We test our hypotheses using a recent survey of
about 700 Ugandan rural and urban entrepreneurs. Our hypotheses are
supported in the urban sample, but not in the rural sample.
Description
Keywords
Network Structure, African Entrepreneurs, Uganda
Citation
Rooks, G., Szirmai, A., & Sserwanga, A. (2012). Network structure and innovative performance of African entrepreneurs: The case of Uganda. Journal of African economies, 21(4), 609-636. doi:10.1093/jae/ejs011