The Dynamics of Interfirm Networks along the Industry Life Cycle: The Case of the Global Video Games Industry 1987-2007

Pierre-Alexandre Balland, Mathijs de Vaan () and Ron Boschma ()

No 1114, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: In this paper, we study the formation of network ties between firms along the life cycle of a creative industry. We focus on three drivers of network formation: i) network endogeneity which stresses a path-dependent change originating from previous network structures, ii) five forms of proximity (e.g. geographical proximity) which ascribe tie formation to the similarity of actors' attributes; and (iii) individual characteristics which refer to the heterogeneity in actors capabilities to exploit external knowledge. The paper employs a stochastic actor-oriented model to estimate the - changing - effects of these drivers on inter-firm network formation in the global video game industry from 1987 to 2007. Our findings indicate that the effects of the drivers of network formation change with the degree of maturity of the industry. To an increasing extent, video game firms tend to partner over shorter distances and with more cognitively similar firms as the industry evolves.

Keywords: network dynamics; industry life cycle; proximity; creative industry; video game industry; stochastic actor-oriented model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B52 D85 O18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2011-08, Revised 2011-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-com, nep-cse, nep-net, nep-soc and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The dynamics of interfirm networks along the industry life cycle: The case of the global video game industry, 1987--2007 (2013)
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