One goal, two paths : How managerial ties impact business model innovation in a transition economy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the following question: how managerial ties impact firm business model innovation (BMI) in the context of transition economies. Design/methodology/approach The authors present a conceptual model that links managerial ties, organizational learning (explorative and exploitative learning), opportunity recognition and BMI together. Findings This study finds that managerial ties take effect through two paths: one direct path and one indirect path. First, managerial ties can impact BMI directly through exploitative and explorative learning. Second, managerial ties can impact BMI indirectly through explorative learning and opportunity recognition. Practical implications First, firm managers from transition economies should learn to reinvent their business models by taking full advantage of managerial ties. Second, firm managers should take appropriate actions to transfer managerial ties into BMI. Originality/value This study contributes to existing literature in two major ways. First, this study enriches literature on the antecedents to BMI from a social network perspective. Second, this study opens the “black box” between managerial ties and BMI in the context of transition economies.