Drivers of performance in a complex environment: Holonic approach and Italian Business Network Contracts

Purpose In the present paper, the authors are both analyzing and considering the Business Network Contract (BNC) as a model of voluntary holarchy in which the holons are isomorphically linked between them by means managerial chooses and laws to reach a communal and individual survival condition. Methodology The Italian SME manufacturing firms signing a Business Network Contract are seen as holonic elements in an adaptive system. Data drawn from the Italian Business Register are analyzed to understand the driving factors of the firms’ adaptation and survival, by using descriptive, causality and ANOVA statistical techniques. Findings The main findings of the paper support the holonic approach by demonstrating that Business Network Contracts are alliances based on strategic relations able to create synergies and increase performance. Empirical results suggest that ‘internal and external efficiency’, given by knowledge sharing practices, and firms’ geographical proximity will positively influence BN firms’ productivity, although without resorting to investments (tangible or intangible). Practical implications Business Network Contract is an instrument able to introduce common rules and finalized isomorphic behaviors making firms acting as a holon with positive effects on performance. Originality This work enriches the existing literature by joining the systemic approach with the network theories and providing evidence of the suitability of the “holon” construct as the basis for a multi-level framework for the study of organizational networking.