How does Entrepreneurs’ Interpretation Shape Networking Behaviors During Institutional Transition

Networking is vital for entrepreneurial success in transitional economies. Prior research provides inconsistent perspectives regarding how entrepreneurs develop and evolve networking behaviors during institutional transition. Both networking persistence and adaptation perspectives tend to focus on external environmental pressures, leaving entrepreneurs’ internalization process to be uncovered. Highlighting the roles of micro process and interpretation underlying networking behaviors, this paper asks how entrepreneurs’ interpretation during institutional change shapes their networking behaviors. We examine how and why incumbent entrepreneurs and new entrepreneurs adopted distinctive networking behaviors during China’s market-oriented institutional transition. We identify three interpretative themes, explore the conditions affecting networking persistence and networking adaptation, and offer theoretical contributions to study of entrepreneurs’ networking behaviors in transitional economies.