Conceptualization of strategy in business networks: an assessment

Abstract

This conceptual article explores the ways in which strategy is being conceived in business networks. The dominant industrial organization-based approach to strategy development has been noted to be inadequate in networks where strategies are characterized by joint action and interdependencies between firms. While the Europe-based network approach offers insights into network competition, it presents a rather broad concept that includes almost any kind of strategic action. The main obstacles are associated with the conceptualization of network context as borderless entities, and the absence of a dynamic integration between causal mechanism of business relationships and network context. It is suggested that an analysis of the concept of learning with respect to four levels of network context: industries as networks, firms in network, relationship portfolios and exchange relationships could provide a fruitful theoretical explanation for strategy in networks.

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