Network Strategies and Performance of Canadian Investment Banks

Abstract

What implications does a firm's specialization have for firm performance achieved by spanning structural holes between its partners? By analyzing networks within the Canadian investment banking industry, I find that, in networks rich in structural holes, both specialists and generalists outperform banks of moderate specialization levels, and that generalist banks, in turn, perform better than specialists.

Keywords: Networks, alliances, structural holes, investment banks, specialists, generalists