New technologies are changing the way entrepreneurs network. Internet Based Neworking Websites (IBNWs) are re shaping the process in which we network and communicate with one another, on a personal and also on a professional level. The biggest example of this is the incredible rise of IBNWs such as Facebook and LinkedIn that together hold more than 300 million users. This is a very new form of networking where individuals are able to communicate and connect with an almost limitless amount of people, regardless of their geographical location. The more traditional forms of networking are seen as phone calls and face to face communication, while in the last two decades email has also been incorporated into a common and professional form of networking for the purpose of business. Since IBNWs are a new form of maintaining relationships, for our thesis we have decided to address the question of how IBNWs affect the process of networking during the development of ventures. In the thesis we explore the concepts put forward by authors such as; Granovetter, Hoang and Antoncic, Aldrich and Zimmer, Deutsch, Sonnenberg among others. In addition we used the structure used by Hoand and Antoncic to create a framework when analyzing the networking process though IBNWs. This framework is split in to three categories: Network structure, governance, and content. Using a qualitative interpretivist approach we have developed an extensive case study and we have interviewed ten entrepreneurs from a wide array of industries and locations. To help us analyze the data retrieved we have also interviewed an expert in the field of business and internet landscaping. The aim of the study is to generate a new framework for networking in the 21st century in light of the IBNW boom. The findings demonstrate that IBNWs are being used widely by entrepreneurs, but mainly for advices and information or in other words, providing low commitment content. We have concluded that IBNWs are perceived as an informal cold and weak form of networking and maintaining business networks and if relationships where to progress to higher levels of commitment then entepreneurs will turn to more traditional ways of network maintenance such as face-to-face meetings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-45173 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Jara, Carlos, Wayburne, Terence |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Umeå studies in the humanities, 0345-0155 |
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