Organizational network legitimacy and its impact on knowledge networks: the case of China's TD‐SCDMA mobility technology

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify why and how organizational network legitimacy facilitates firms' access to knowledge networks and reciprocal knowledge exchange between stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – The study involves a managerially oriented inductive interpretative research, with empirical evidence sourced from a single in‐depth case study, complemented by hands‐on experience with the industry. Findings – Subsidiaries of multinationals operating in China's politically sensitive and protective mobility technology market have stronger proactive and collaborative aspirations towards exploiting emerging technological opportunities in the external environment and developing technological capabilities because they are more inclined to pursue organizational network legitimacy initiatives. Research limitations/implications – How organizational network legitimacy is produced, where does it become manifest, and at what administrative layers within China's politically sensitive and protective telecommunications are systematic empirical research questions that could be examined in the future. Practical implications – Internalizing, driven only by market and/or technology legitimacy, falls short of realizing the organizational network legitimacy goal. It must also include cognitive understanding of the net sum of relational, investment and social legitimacies, as these are cognitively binding as well as benefiting with respect to subsidiaries of multinationals in accessing knowledge networks. Originality/value – The paper underscores the importance of studying organizational network legitimacy and how it impacts on firms' access to knowledge networks, in a politically sensitive and protective Chinese mobility technology market.