Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Extraorganizational Clan-Building as Small Firm Strategy for Home Field Advantage

Authors

  • Reginald A. Litz University of Manitoba
  • Alice C. Stewart Ohio State University

Abstract

Small firms are comparatively resource disadvantaged when it comes to competing against scale-oriented competitors. However, one area where small firms may have a differential advantage is in building and nurturing highly personalized customer relationships. Drawing on extant work in external market, internal hierarchical, and internal clan coordinating mechanisms, we conceptualize an additional coordinating  mechanism  the extraorganizational clan, and hypothesize its relationship to small firm performance. We test our hypothesis, linking extraorganizational clan-building and firm performance, on a sample of over 300 small retail firms. Our findings show that selected aspects of clan-building behaviors have a positive effect on small firm performance. We conclude by reflecting on what our findings suggest for sustainable small firm competitive advantage.

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Published

2000-01-17

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2000)

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Extraorganizational Clan-Building as Small Firm Strategy for Home Field Advantage. (2000). Journal of Small Business Strategy (archive Only), 11(1), 1-13. https://libjournals.mtsu.edu/index.php/jsbs/article/view/436