PhD defence J. (Jitse) Duijsters

Brief summary of the doctoral thesis:

Many, if not most organizations collaborate with other organizations. These relationships are essential for growth and innovation. However, these relationships are not necessarily stable; old relationships end, new ties are formed, and existing ones are modified. In this dissertation, I study the reasons why such relationships change, as well as the consequences of this change. I do this by analyzing the context of corporate venture capital syndicates, firms working together to invest in start-up companies, through 3 studies.

First, I show that the degree in which a firm engages in corporate venturing is linked to its portfolio strategies, and that these portfolio strategies have different effects on financial and innovation performance. Second, I examine how accusations of misconduct may cause network change. Specifically, I argue that when a firm is the defendant in an intellectual property-related lawsuit, this has a negative effect on its network. However, we also show that not all firms experience the same negative effects when accused. Third, I examine the consequences of change in inter-organizational networks. I argue that while a certain degree of turnover in a firm’s network can be positive, too much turnover is as bad as too little, and that this effect depends on the network partners that are ‘lost’.
All in all, I contribute to research on corporate venturing, change in social networks, and the dark side of inter-organizational relationships. I believe my research can inform managers on how to manage change in inter-organizational relationships and create the right networking strategies.