Formation of the international trade community based on resource dependence and network theory

Business communities significantly promote free trade and trade security, so that joining the business community is essential for their long-term development. Therefore, the aim of the research was to form an international trade community based on network theory and resource dependence.

Twenty countries were selected as a sample from the countries that engage in international trade and based on the data available from the Comtrade database of the United Nations in the period of 2005-2019.

The results showed: 1) the trading partner factor has a positive effect on the formation of international trading communities, that's mean when a country cooperates with a large number of trading partners or has a dominant position in the international trade network, the probability of the country forms the same community with other countries is higher, 2) when a country considers itself dependent on the resources of other countries, the possibility of forming a similar community with other countries increases accordingly and 3) network position plays positive role in regulating the relationship between resource dependence and the international trade community.

Originality/Value: 

Countries that can boost resource trade based on the factor of economic freedom and diversity of the importing country can reduce their dependence on other countries.