Networks of Software, 1990-2002 : Do Web of Links Contribute to Sales?

We develop and test a model of key determinants of software sales based on characteristics of a firm's business scope and network position - especially, cluster coefficient, degree centrality, partner diversity and linkage scope diversity. We use data on a sample of 509 firms in the packaged software industry during 1990-2002 to test our model and find strong empirical support for the additional explanatory power of network characteristics. We also complement the statistical analyses with insights from a decision support system for network visualization that we have built to explore the complexities underlying the operations and temporal evolution of the software industry. We identify a set of implications and future directions and call for researchers to further develop insights on how we can retain the holistic system of inter-linkages amongst firms to better understand organizational actions and firm performance