Title: Entrepreneurial networks in highly globalised industries: the case of the Greek shipping industry

Authors: Abraham Stefanidis, Anthony Ioannidis, Panos Mourdoukoutas

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, Athens University of Economics and Business, 76, Patission Str., 10434, Athens, Greece. ' Department of Business Administration, Athens University of Economics and Business, 76, Patission Str., 10434, Athens, Greece. ' Economics Department, C.W. Post Campus, Long Island University, New York, USA; Department of Business Administration, Athens University of Economics and Business, 76, Patission Str., 10434, Athens, Greece

Abstract: This paper unveils one of the secrets of success of the Greek shipping industry: informal networking of families of entrepreneurs with long strong ties imbued in mutual trust and immersed in |love for the sea| tradition that allow Greek shipping firms to address the peculiarities and specificity of a highly globalised industry. Close family ties, clustering, and tacit knowledge allow Greek shipping companies to enjoy efficiencies and synergies hard to replicate by the competition. Long family ties create mutual trust and understanding that minimises opportunistic behaviour and agency costs. Clustering creates both scale and networking economies that provide Greek shipping companies an advantage over their peers.

Keywords: entrepreneurial networks; shipping industry; Greece; globalisation; competitive advantage; entrepreneurship; family entrepreneurs; family ties; trust; understanding; clustering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNVO.2007.013543

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2007 Vol.4 No.2, pp.189 - 200

Published online: 04 May 2007 *

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