Creating a Competitive Advantage by Occupying Critical Position: Analysis of the Tourism Academy Network in Taiwan

Abstract

This study analyzed the relationship between the critical network position and knowledge creation at the individual level. The hypothesis was tested among a sample of 109 tourism research scholars from 24 universities with tourism management departments. The majority of these universities are located in northern, middle, or southern Taiwan. The analyses tracked 466 scholars’ publications, 651 applications for research funding, and 675 coauthorships between 1993 and 2012. The results revealed trade-offs and nonlinear relationships between the critical position and the quality/quantity of knowledge created. Furthermore, research funding played important moderating roles, as it positively moderated the association between critical position and knowledge quality but negatively moderated knowledge quantity.