Abstract
This book sheds light on how the competitiveness of entrepreneurial firms can be understood from a relational perspective. The relational perspective complements internally focused approaches to explain firm competitiveness. Through the review of publications of the author, it will be shown how the relational view extends the classic notion of strategic management and how different types of networks matter in time for the competitiveness of firms but also how the spatial distribution of relationships matter for firms. The latter leads also to an investigation of the nature of clusters and how they are born and developed but most importantly how differential firm performance within clusters can be explained (allowing firms to develop a competitive advantage). If we consider that the network model is relevant for the development of entrepreneurial firms, the question arises what the limits of this model are and what the consequences are for firm development. Moreover, while research stretches the positive effects of networks, the negative effects are somehow under-researched. Research is presented that sheds some light on network liabilities. Understanding networks as an organizational configuration, the perspective is extended to other organizational configurations that drive firm competitiveness: they include research on teams as sub-units and small business groups. Concluding remarks will finally link the idea of competitive advantage to entrepreneurship.