TY  - CHAP
AB  - Abstract Networks and learning matter to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Networks and learning are also further elaborations on the exploration–exploitation (EE) dilemma. Ambidexterity, that is, managing this apparent dilemma, can be difficult as a result of many constraints. One of these constraints is that of mutually exclusive network structures. Consequently, ambidexterity is the ability to change networks, depending on need using mixed data on four small companies formed as part of an undergraduate management class, I hypothesize how specific network properties of the advice-seeking relationship, including density, cohesion, centralization, and embeddedness, affect two outcomes. Specifically, early exploratory learning is proposed to be positively affected by less-dense networks that maintain cohesion without centralization and do not have relations embedded in other relations. In contrast, later exploitative learning should be associated with denser networks that also have higher cohesion, higher centralization, and greater embeddedness. The results provide some support for these hypotheses and suggest further research in two areas that will benefit SMEs. One, how do early networks affect learning mode? Two, how does the ability to rewire networks provide the relational infrastructure to shift from exploration to exploitation – that is, to be ambidextrous in the face of the exploration–exploitation tradeoff?
VL  - 14
SN  - 978-1-78350-655-2, 978-1-78350-656-9/1479-067X
DO  - 10.1108/S1479-067X20140000014011
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-067X20140000014011
AU  - Comas Jordi
PY  - 2014
Y1  - 2014/01/01
TI  - Juggling Exploratory and Exploitative Learning with Dynamic Networks in the Early Days of Small Companies
T2  - Exploration and Exploitation in Early Stage Ventures and SMEs
T3  - Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Competitive Strategy
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 319
EP  - 357
Y2  - 2024/05/14
ER  -