Do asymmetric networks help or hinder small firms' ability to export?

Studies of industrial districts in Europe and the US and of networked firms in Japan recognize the positive correlation between symmetric networks - those between firms of similar size - and their success in international markets. This relationship is not obvious in the case of asymmetric networks - those between firms of relatively different sizes. The management of territory hypothesis (MTH) predicts that asymmetric networks increase small firms' access to information from large firms, but they could also enhance large firms' control over small firms' strategic decisions, including the decision to export. The increased independence hypothesis (IIH) predicts that asymmetric networks increase small firms' access to information from large firms without compromising their independence in making strategic decisions. We test both hypotheses on a sample of high technology firms in five metropolitan areas in Texas.