Whom you know matters: Network structure, industrial environment and digital orientation

Abstract

Research into digital orientation has demonstrated that digital oriented firms are better able to dynamically evolve competitive advantages and exhibit better performance. However, the understanding on the antecedents of developing such prominent strategic orientation is little. By taking the network perspective, this study explores the roles of different network structures in driving organizations' digital orientation. We argue that while different types of network structures facilitate firms' proactivity and commitment to adopt digital technologies, the extent to which firms are actually supported from different network positions depends on the munificence of the industries in which they operate. By empirically examining the model using the secondary data of 2131 U.S. manufacturing firms covering the period from 2000 to 2020, our results suggest that centrality and brokerage positively affect the digital orientation of firms, but that these impacts differ when firms are operating in a highly munificent industry. Collectively, the findings provide insights into how network structures and the industry environment interact to support firms' strategic digital orientation decisions.