Coping With Business Network Dynamics - Strategizing Through Role And Position

The paper aims at contributing to the ongoing debate concerning management in business networks. Strategy thinking is combined with the business network approach through the concepts of role and position. The paper scrutinizes strategizing through two perspectives, institutionalization and sensemaking, in order to conceptually address how a firm may strategize and potentially manage in business networks taking these perspectives into consideration. It is suggested that influencing and changing the firm's role(s) and/or position forms a way to strategize and manage within a business network. Influencing role and position is an important tool for an actor who aims at managing change in a business network.