Ties That Last: Tie Formation and Persistence in Research Collaborations over Time

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Dahlander, Linus; McFarland, Daniel A.
• 署名单位: European School of Management & Technology; Stanford University
• 刊物名称: ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-8392
• DOI: 10.1177/0001839212474272
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 69-110
• 关键词: social-structure; Network structure; survival analysis; ORGANIZATIONS; POWER; dissolution; Embeddedness; INNOVATION; DYNAMICS; duration

摘要

Using a longitudinal dataset of research collaborations over 15 years at Stanford University, we build a theory of intraorganizational task relationships that distinguishes the different factors associated with the formation and persistence of network ties. We highlight six factors: shared organizational foci, shared traits and interests, tie advantages from popularity, tie reinforcement from third parties, tie strength and multiplexity, and the instrumental returns from the products of ties. Findings suggest that ties form when unfamiliar people identify desirable and matching traits in potential partners. By contrast, ties persist when familiar people reflect on the quality of their relationship and shared experiences. The former calls for shallow, short-term strategies for assessing a broad array of potential ties; the latter calls for long-term strategies and substantive assessments of a relationship's worth so as to draw extended rewards from the association. This suggests that organizational activities geared toward sustaining persistent intraorganizational task relationships need to be different from activities aimed at forging new ones.