Introduction to the Special Issue: The Genesis and Dynamics of Organizational Networks

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ahuja, Gautam; Soda, Giuseppe; Zaheer, Akbar
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Bocconi University; Bocconi University; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0695
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 434-448
• 关键词: economic sociology; economics and organization; social networks; organization and management theory; INTERORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

摘要

An extensive body of knowledge exists on network outcomes and on how network structures may contribute to the creation of outcomes at different levels of analysis, but less attention has been paid to understanding how and why organizational networks emerge, evolve, and change. Improved understanding of network dynamics is important for several reasons, perhaps the most critical being that the understanding of network outcomes is only partial without an appreciation of the genesis of the network structures that resulted in such outcomes. To provide a context for the papers in this special issue, and with the broader goal of furthering network dynamics research, we present a framework that begins by discussing the meaning and role of network dynamics and goes on to identify the drivers and key dimensions of network change as well as the role of time in this process. We conclude with theoretical and methodological issues that researchers need to address in this domain.