| 1284 - KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS OF TOP MANAGERS IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY: RESOURCEFUL TIES AND RESOURCEFUL CONTACTS |
| Authors : Alexander Fliaster - UNIVERSITY OF BAMBERG, Sonja Sperber - ISM INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT |
| Thursday, June 22, 2017 - Slot 4 (09:00 - 10:30) |
| John Anderson Building - Room 504 |
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| Past research revealed that social networks play a decisive role for the receipt of new knowledge by engineers and middle-level managers and, thus, essentially contribute to innovation. However, the question of by which network ties top managers, that is, the key organizational actors, acquire which kinds of innovation-related knowledge has not yet been explored systematically. Our paper addresses this research gap by empirically analyzing knowledge ties of top executives in the European fashion and accessories industry. We draw on the concept of relational embeddedness (Granovetter, 1985) and focus on resourceful contacts (alters) and resourceful ties of top managers (e.g., Gabbay and Leenders, 2001; Uzzi, 1997). Based on this theoretical framework, we conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with managing directors and other top executives from 11 leading European companies within this industry. We present the main results of this explorative study and identify its important implications from both research and managerial perspective. |
| Keywords : Top management; social networks; fashion |
