HOW NETWORK RELATIONS IMPACT INNOVATION PERFORMANCE OF HIGH-TECHSTARTUPS: EVIDENCE FROM CENTRAL CHINA

Abstract

Research on innovation performance has gradually moved from the industrial clusters level to network relations among enterprises inside clusters. This paper intends to explain the impacts of network strength, breadth and stability on the innovation performance of Startups. An empirical analysis of high-tech Startups from 6 provinces of central China displays that, network strength and breadth exert a significant positive impact on Startups‘ innovation performance, network stability a relatively weak one, and that environmental dynamism plays a negative role mediating between network breadth and the innovation performance.