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Purpose – The role that network competence, environmental hostility and knowledge intensiveness of the industry have on the propensity of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to internationalise is examined.

Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are developed, based on earlier literature on the subject. Subsequently, binary logistic regression modelling using SPSS software is applied to test the hypotheses on a sample of 224 Finnish SMEs representing five industries, two of which are characterised by knowledge intensiveness and three of which are from less knowledge-intensive ones.

Findings – The propensity of SMEs to internationalise depends on both their level of network competence and their lack of perceived environmental hostility. Knowledge intensiveness of the industry is found to moderate the effect that network competence has on the internationalisation propensity.

Research limitations/implications – The present study indicates that possessing higher levels of network competence helps domestic SMEs in their efforts to turn international, and that its beneficial effect is especially important for small firms in industries characterised by high knowledge intensity. Possible limitations of the study are the small cultural context and inclusion of firms from only five industries.

Originality/value – This study is the first linking measurable network competence to internationalisation decisions of SMEs, while also including environmental and industry considerations. It also provides further evidence for the importance of networks in SME internationalisation theory, but indicates that it is not only the business networks themselves but also the competence in developing and maintaining those networks that help SMEs internationalise.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how network competence is related to the growth of domestic and international SMEs originating from the Nordic region. Business networks have been found to drive internationalization of SMEs in the Nordic context, but the impact of network-related organizational competencies on them has not been considered.

The authors apply regression analysis on a sample of 298 Finnish SMEs across five industry sectors, gathered via an online survey in 2008, and with the data having been updated for its financial indicators up to 2010.

The authors find that cross-relational network competence is a significant predictor of growth in internationally operating SMEs. This result is robust across measures among the firms. In comparison, the network competence of domestically operating SMEs is not related to their growth, and relationship-specific competence does not influence growth.

The study does not account for longitudinal aspect of competence development. Growth is measured by the growth in sales and assets, and there are other ways to measure organizational growth. A single-country context also extends some restrictions on the generalizability of the results, although they could be expected to hold across small, open economies similar to Finland and the Nordic area.

The results imply that the strategic aims of SMEs determine their need for network competence, those SMEs seeking internationalization and growth through geographic expansion come to benefit from developing certain types of network competence.

Policy implications arise where governments in Finland and in the Nordic area may aid SMEs’ internationalization efforts by enabling the growth-seeking firms with increased resources for competence development.

This is the first study to examine how the organizational competencies to develop and manage business networks, in particular dyadic and network-level competencies, come to determine realized growth outcomes in domestic and international SMEs. It contributes to the theory of SME internationalization and international entrepreneurship from the business network point of view, while providing further knowledge on internationalization of SMEs originating from the Nordic area.

As developed countries experience a decline of manufacturing industries, national governments increasingly turn to innovation‐based cluster initiatives to secure the long‐term prosperity of a region. However, the mechanisms that help translate cluster membership into higher innovativeness are not well understood. This paper seeks to propose a framework which sees a firm's network competence and network location as being key to superior innovation performance.

The deductive quantitative study applies a combination of statistical tools and tools for social network analysis to test the hypothesized relationships.

The results show that none of the cluster companies has so far been able to operate at the expected level of innovation performance. Findings further support the hypothesis that network competence and central network positions are positively related to innovation performance. Therefore, while innovation performance proves to be unsatisfactory for all cluster companies, those with a higher level of network competence and central network positions perform significantly better in terms of innovation than companies low in network competence and network centrality.

In order to succeed in a cluster, companies must focus on enhancing their network competence and strive for more central network positions.

The study focuses on the social construction of innovation performance. Cluster firms, their embeddedness in exchange relationships with other firms, as well as their network managerial competence are seen as key factors influencing firm innovation performance. In conclusion, the study offers an alternative view on innovation performance, complementing the traditional explanation approaches in the innovation literature.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to examine the influence of two dimensions of entrepreneurial competencies, namely, strategic competency and ethical competency on the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and second, to explore the role of network competence as a mediator among these understudied variables.

The data for this study were collected from wholesale and retail-based SMEs in Malaysia through a standard structured questionnaire. PLS–SEM approach was utilised to analyse the data.

Although the findings did not reveal a direct effect of strategic and ethical competencies of entrepreneurs on SMEs’ growth, these competences, however, were found to be influential in driving their growth when network competence was used as a mediator.

The existence of a mediation effect between strategic and ethical competencies and SMEs’ growth via network competence has provided insights which add new knowledge to the extant entrepreneurship and SMEs’ performance literature.

This study aims to examine an empirical evidence of the relationship between relational capital, network competence and market entry capabilities on marketing performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) furniture export orientation in Central Java, Indonesia.

This study uses a quantitative research approach to investigate the relationship between relational capital, network competence, market entry capabilities and marketing performance. To achieve the research objectives, data were collected from managers or owners of furniture export orientation in Central Java, Indonesia. Using structural equation modeling, and after a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyzed, the authors tested an integrated model of the relationship between relational capital, network competence, market entry capabilities and marketing performance.

The result of this study indicates that relational capital has a positive significant effect on marketing performance. Relational capital has an insignificant effect on market entry capabilities. Network competence has a positive effect on market entry capabilities. Market entry capabilities have a positive effect on marketing performance. Other results also show that market entry capabilities can mediate the influence of network competence and marketing performance.

The limitation of this research indicates that respondents in this research are very varied, if it is seen from their background into furniture business development, whereas many respondents do not have enough understanding of the questionnaire distributed. This research is only developed at the SMEs’ furniture area, so it cannot be generalized at the other organizational area. The influencing of relational capital result in market entry capability has not suitable with theory built. It is because inaccurate dimension market entry capability has been applied in this research. For future research, it is suggested to look for alternative dimension of market entry capability.

Based on the analysis results and discussion, it can be formulated that managerial implication explains the following steps: first, a company should focus on long-period relationship development. Focus on long-period relationship development will increase customer loyalty and company performance. Moreover, the customer has long-term relationship with organization, although instability condition because of the belief in long-period relationship and strong commitment to each other. The evidence from this study suggests that’s the organization needs to develop the long-term relationship with customer. Second, networking competency is important in market entry capability. Relationship can change anytime; therefore, the company has to have a strong competency of network developing. This competency helps company to enhance strong relationship. The strong network relationship helps company face easier ways in market entry capability.

The results of this research indicate that the role played by relational capital to increase market entry capability is not as good as the role played by network capability on market entry capability. In the international market context, the role of resource-based view is better than that of transaction cost economy in influencing market entry capability. Other results also show that market entry capabilities can mediate the influence of network competence and marketing performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of network competence to radical innovation.

Technological change associated with human body disposal acts as the form of radical innovation in which network competence is examined. Interviews, observations at industry conferences and secondary data are used for the case studies featured and in which network competence is investigated.

The paper establishes the importance of network competence at the regime and landscape level and the contribution of actors within commercial innovation niches to bringing cremation alternatives to market.

Some of the results are particular to the challenges of network entry and product introduction facing business start-ups and the context of body disposal is unique. Further research should examine network competence and radical innovation in other business fields.

Firstly, the context of human body disposal highlights the importance of institutional actors and social systems in bringing cremation alternatives to market. Secondly, focusing on human disposal encourages exchange amongst readers on a subject which is fundamental to man’s existence, yet the discussion of which many might normally choose to avoid.

The paper connects two areas of academic interest, namely, niche management for sustainability and radical innovation in business markets in which networking and network competence are key to the commercialisation of innovation.

Argues that the ability of a firm to develop and manage relations with key suppliers, customers and other organizations and to deal effectively with the interactions among these relations is a core competence of a firm – one that has a direct bearing on a firm’s competitive strength and performance. This is referred to as a firm’s network competence. In the first part of the paper work in Germany that has led to the development and calibration of a scale to measure a firm’s network competencies is described. In the second part the results of preliminary studies designed to develop and test the validity of the scale in an English‐speaking context are reported. The results show that the measurement of network competence is valid and that the same relations between network competence and performance measures found in the German research hold. It is further shown that the measure of network competence is empirically and conceptually distinct to that of the market orientation scale.

Studies show that employability is fast becoming a significant subject when managing contemporary careers. Indeed, employee networking is a prerequisite for career success, but the literature lacks findings regarding the impact of networking on employability. Meanwhile, network organizations in the knowledge economy are gaining popularity and bringing rise to the number of knowledge workers in the labor force. The purpose of this paper is to show the impact of employee networking competence on the employability of knowledge workers, particularly in the wider context of network organizations.

In order to verify our theoretical model, data was collected among a controlled sample of 1189 knowledge workers using a Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) surveying technique. Our model was verified through a series of structural equation models (SEM).

Results show positive effects of network organizations and knowledge work on the networking competence of knowledge workers. The employability of knowledge workers does not just increase as these workers perform high-quality knowledge work. In order for employability to rise, knowledge workers must also exhibit networking competence. However, our study findings show that networking competence plays only a mediating role in the employability of knowledge workers.

This study focuses on the employability of knowledge workers in network organizations, which is an increasingly important concept for contemporary management. The paper contributes to the literature through its furthering of network and career management theories.

Due to their common role as suppliers, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are especially challenged by today's turbulent business conditions. In order to meet this challenge, short‐term Internet‐based enterprise co‐operations are regarded as an appropriate way to enhance the competitive strength of SMEs. Hence, the Institute of Machine Tools and Industrial Management (IWB) operates three so‐called competence networks for engineering (www.engineering‐net.de), rapid prototyping (www.rp‐net.de) and manufacturing (www.produktionsnetz.de) services. For the purpose of an applied research project, more than 80 participating SME suppliers were included in these specialised virtual markets, which are based on the core competencies of the co‐operating SMEs. Additionally, an Internet platform (www.virtueller‐markt.de) is used to enable customers to configure their specific cyber chains via the above‐mentioned competence networks. The present paper depicts how to establish and operate competence networks as well as how to configure cyber chains via these virtual markets.

Collective reputation cognition is an enterprise's perception of the general rules of reputation evaluation, jointly formed by a network's collective members. It affects the choice of enterprises' innovation behavior and guides enterprises to occupy a dominant position in the innovation network, thus achieving high innovation performance. In this process, it is inseparable from the enterprise's good network competence. This study attempts to bring collective reputation cognition, network competence and innovation performance into the same framework and aims to explore the relationship among them and determine the influential roles of collective reputation perception and network capability on innovation performance.

This study uses 227 Chinese enterprises in the innovation network as samples and applies partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the questions mentioned above.

The results verify the relationship among collective reputation cognition, network competence and innovation performance. Furthermore, the results yield five paths that lead to high innovation performance, such as “putting ability first” and “both fame and competence”, which are different combinations of collective reputation cognition and network competence.

Based on institutional theory, this study considers the network context and identifies “collective reputation cognition” as a key variable. Meanwhile, it opens the “black box” of the mechanism of reputation's influence on innovation performance and finds that the combined paths of collective reputation cognition and network competence achieve high performance in terms of innovation.