How Network Facilitators Create Value in Inter-firm Networks – A Differentiated View

Abstract

Cooperating in inter-firm networks within the same or related industries is a popular means for firms to foster their competitiveness and innovation outcomes. In many cases, network facilitators, who are embedded either in a lead-firm or a third-party organization, are employed to initiate and manage cooperation among the firms in the network. This qualitative study aims at shedding light on how the different network facilitators create or fail to create value in inter-firm networks. In particular, it focuses on how far lead-firm and third-party facilitators show different patterns of value creating processes based on differences in their incentive systems and the network firms’ trusting beliefs. Results show that third-party facilitators appear to be effective in competitive, horizontal networks where they can create value by balancing the interests of the participating firms. In contrast, lead-firm facilitators can be effective in creating value in cooperative, vertical networks with strong inter-firm d...