A Review of Research on Structural Holes and Innovation Performance

Abstract

With the development of globalization, firms are facing increasingly fierce competition. In such an environment, innovation has become an inevitable choice for companies to survive and develop, and is a hot topic studied by management scholars. Especially in high-tech industries, innovation has a particularly prominent impact on a company’s survival and prosperity. Technical innovation involves high levels of uncertainty and requires significant amounts of time and resources, so firms typically engage in strategic alliances to conduct joint research and exchange knowledge and information. In this process, innovation networks become an important source of innovation for companies, and the transfer, sharing, integration, and absorption of technical knowledge are all accomplished through innovation networks. As an important structure in innovation networks, structural holes can provide novel and heterogeneous information and knowledge. firms occupying positions in structural holes have information and control advantages, and by integrating different information, firms are more likely to create new knowledge. Therefore, the study of structural holes has become a focus of management research, and can play a significant role in promoting the development of social network and social capital theory. This paper systematically studies structural holes and innovation performance by reviewing existing research and defining the basic concepts and classifications of structural holes. In addition, relevant studies on the relationship between structural holes and innovation performance are summarized from the organizational, team, and individual levels, with a focus on the relationship between structural holes and firm innovation performance. Finally, based on the shortcomings of current research on structural holes and innovation performance, future research prospects are proposed to further promote the development of research in this area.