Better With Age? Tie Longevity and the Performance Implications of Bridging and Closure

Abstract

We examine the dependence of the performance effects of firms' network positions on the ages of the ties comprising them. Our analysis of Canadian investment banks' underwriting syndicate ties indicates that the performance benefits of closure increase with tie age, while benefits of bridging decrease with tie age. We also find that benefits yielded by hybrid network positions combining elements of both closure and bridging are greatest when old closure ties are combined with either very young or very old bridging ties. Our findings support the idea that the advantages firms gain (or do not) from their network positions depend on the character of the ties (e.g., age) comprising them, highlighting the risk of theorizing structural network effects without also considering the qualities of the ties through which particular structural benefits accrue.