Strong ties, information seeking, and ecosystem brokerage among actors in the Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem

Abstract

While weak ties have received considerable research attention, less is known about the role of strong ties in this context or the interplay among different types of ties. This study addressed this gap, at least partially, by investigating the outreach made by Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs to improve their businesses through a survey of knowledge-seeking behaviors of 533 Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs identified 1666 different ecosystem actors among 3397 separate knowledge-seeking events. The findings from this study highlight the importance of a confluence of strong and weak ties in serving as conduits through which entrepreneurs secure resources from ecosystem support providers. When a breadth of knowledge is required (i.e. both business and technical), entrepreneurial firms establish strong ties with specific government agencies and universities. When primarily business knowledge is needed, entrepreneurial firms form strong ties with government agencies, while government agencies in turn establish strong ties with a wider range of stakeholders across the ecosystem actors. Finally, when primarily technical knowledge is needed the strong ties are leveraged primarily by entrepreneurial firms to embed themselves within the partner organizations, which tend to be universities and professional service organizations. The article concludes with implications for theory and practice.

Résumé

Si les liens faibles ont fait l’objet d’une attention considérable de la part de la recherche, le rôle des liens forts dans ce contexte ou l’interaction entre différents types de liens sont moins connus. La présente étude a comblé cette lacune, du moins en partie, en examinant les démarches entreprises par les entrepreneurs du Canada atlantique pour améliorer leurs entreprises, au moyen d’une enquête sur les comportements de recherche de connaissances de 533 entrepreneurs de cette région. Ces répondants ont identifié 1666 acteurs différents de l’écosystème parmi 3397 événements distincts de recherche de connaissances. Les résultats de cette étude soulignent l’importance d’une confluence de liens forts et faibles pour permettre aux entrepreneurs d’obtenir des ressources des fournisseurs de soutien de l’écosystème. Lorsqu’un large éventail de connaissances est requis (c’est-à-dire à la fois commerciales et techniques), les sociétés entrepreneuriales établissent des liens étroits avec des agences gouvernementales et des universités spécifiques. Lorsque des connaissances principalement commerciales sont requises, les sociétés entrepreneuriales établissent des liens étroits avec des agences gouvernementales, tandis que ces dernières établissent à leur tour des liens étroits avec un éventail plus large de parties prenantes parmi les acteurs de l’écosystème. Enfin, lorsque des connaissances essentiellement techniques sont nécessaires, les liens forts sont exploités principalement par les sociétés entrepreneuriales pour s’intégrer dans les organisations partenaires, qui sont généralement des universités et des organisations de services professionnels. La conclusion de l’article aborde les implications pour la théorie et la pratique.

Keywords:

• Entrepreneurial ecosystems
• strong ties
• brokerage
• regional business development
• network analysis
• information search

MOTS-CLÉS::

• écosystèmes entrepreneuriaux
• liens forts
• courtage
• développement régional des entreprises
• analyse des réseaux
• recherche d’information

Acknowledgments

We thank the larger research team who contributed ideas toward this project, including Drs. Basu Sharma, Dannie Brown, Ken Carter, Izold Guihur, Susan Graham, and Blair Winsor as well as Nathan Dennison.

Ethics details

The study was approved by the Research Ethics Board at Cape Breton University (File # 1516-123).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Atlantic Policy Research Initiative of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

Notes on contributors

Kevin McKague

Kevin McKague is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Shannon School of Business, Cape Breton University. His research interests include social enterprise and inclusive markets around the world.

Chad Saunders

Chad Saunders is an Assistant Professor at The University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. His research interests include the impact of technology use in professional practices, the design and innovation of technology-enabled knowledge management in organizations, and the support that entrepreneurs draw upon with a particular interest in the role of academic-industry collaborations and academics engaged in entrepreneurial activities.

Stephanie Gilbert

Stephanie Gilbert is an Assistant Professor in the Shannon School of Business, Cape Breton University. Her research interests include entrepreneurial motivation and well-being and leadership.

Ellen Farrell

Ellen Farrell is a Full Professor at the Sobey School of Management, Saint Mary’s University. Her research interests lie in the area of entrepreneurship and include VC and knowledge-seeking behavior of entrepreneurs.