172
INTERACTION EFFECTS ON PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT NETWORKS IN CHINA
Interpersonal relationships significantly influence knowledge-based resource inter-
action, which in turn may directly explain the combination of economic and techni-
cal resources and the formation of activity links. In high-tech sectors, where direct
business interaction plays a key role and company actors may be seen as network
hubs by suppliers’ actors, non-business interaction processes are considered to be
highly important not only for the nurturing of business relationships with buyers
but especially for the relationships between first- and second-tier suppliers within
project networks involving business actors based in China. Here, it should be ac-
knowledged that although there are limitations in terms of the ability of this re-
search to generalise, deep insights are generated by analysing inter-subjective ac-
tors’ perceptions of relationship evolution and interpersonal interaction effects.
The next chapter analyses findings and assess the value of the proposed theoretical
framework in the light of findings, presented in this chapter. The implications of the
theoretical framework for the business network approach, product development,
supply network management as well as studies on Chinese management are also
discussed in the next chapter.
