Detecting key actors in interorganizational networks
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Published
18-09-2018
Ignacio Ramos Vidal
Abstract
Interorganizational network structure can be modified by the actions of key actors. This paper presents a set of strategies for detecting those actors through Social Network Analysis. To that end the potential of centrality measures, the Key Player Problem and the power of graphic visualization for identifying such actors and determining their ability to generate changes in network structures are introduced. To test the hypothesis under study five interorganizational networks made up of 32 cultural organizations are analyzed. Four types of key player are identified: (a) central actors; (b) intermediary actors; (c) disseminators; and (d) brokers. Each type has a distinct ability to influence network structures. The Structural Social Capital (SSC) in networks is examined in order to identify the elements that characterize each type of key actor. To that end, structural hole measures are evaluated. Two multiple regression models are developed to learn what factors influence SSC. Results show centrality and brokerage have positive impacts on SSC while density and constraint have negative effects. Finally the potential of each group of key actors for implementing strategies focused on optimizing inter-organizational networks is discussed.
How to Cite
Ramos Vidal, I. (2018). Detecting key actors in interorganizational networks. Cuadernos De Gestión, 17(2), 63–86. https://doi.org/10.5295/cdg.140512ir
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Keywords
Broker, interorganizational networks, key player, structural holes, structural social capital, social network analysis
References
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Barringer, B.R. and Harrison, J.S., 2000. Walking a tightrope: Creating value through interorganizational relationships. Journal of Management, 2 (3), 367-403. Doi: 10.1177/014920630002600302
Baur, M., Benkert, M., Brandes, U., Cornelsen, S., Gaertler, M., Köpf, B., Wagner, D., et al., 2001. Visone Software for visual social network analysis. En Graph Drawing (pp. 463-464). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Borgatti, S.P., 1997. Structural holes. Unpacking Burt’s redundancy measures. Connections, 20 (1), 35-38.
Borgatti, S.P., 2006. Identifying sets of key players in a social network. Computational Mathematical Organizational Theory, 12, 21-34. Doi: 10.1007/s10588-006-7084-x
Borgatti, S.P. and Dreyfus, D., 2003. Keyplayer: Naval Research Software. Lexington, KY, Harvard, Analytic Technologies.
Borgatti, S.P. and Everett, M.G., 1999. Models of Core/Periphery structures. Social Networks, 21, 375-395. Doi: 10.1016/S0378-8733(99)00019-2
Borgatti, S.P. and Everett, M.G., 2006. A graph-theoretic perspective on centrality. Social Networks, 28 (4), 466-484. doi:10.1016/j.socnet.2005.11.005
Borgatti, S.P., Everett, M.G. and Freeman, L.C., 2002. Ucinet for Windows: Software for Social Network Analysis. Harvard, MA: Analytic Technologies.
Borgatti, S.P., Jones, C. and Everett, M.G., 1998. Networks measures of social capital. Connections, 21 (2), 36-51.
Borgatti, S.P., Mehra, A., Brass, D.J. and Labianca, G., 2009. Network Analysis in Social Science. Science, 323, 892-895. Doi: 10.1126/science.1165821
Brass, D.J. and Burkhardt, M.E., 1993. Potential power and power use: An investigation of structure and behaviour. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 441-470. Doi: 10.2307/256588
Burt, R.S., 1992. Structural holes: The social structure of competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
Burt, R.S., 1999. The social capital of opinion leaders. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 566 (1), 37-54. Doi: 10.1177/000271629956600104
Burt, R.S., 2000. The network structure of social capital. Research in Organizational Behavior, 22, 345-423. Doi:10.1016/S0191-3085(00)22009-1
Buskens, V. and Van de Rijt, A., 2008. Dynamics of networks if everyone strives for structural holes. American Journal of Sociology, 114 (2), 371-407. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/590674
Chesbrough, H. and Crowther, A.K., 2006. Beyond high tech: early adopters of open innovation in other industries. R&D Management, 36 (3), 229-236. Doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9310.2006.00428.x
Crowe, J., 2007. In search of a happy medium: How the structure of interorganizational networks influence community economic development strategies. Social Networks, 29 (4), 469-488. Doi: 10.1016/j.socnet.2007.02.002
Danaraj, C. and Parkhe, A., 2006. Orchestrating innovation networks. Academy of Management Review, 31 (3), 659-669. Doi: 10.5465/AMR.2006.21318923
Dyer, J.H. and Singh, H., 1998. The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23 (4), 660-679. Doi: 10.5465/AMR.1998.1255632
Everett, M.G. and Borgatti, S.P., 1999. The centrality of groups and classes. The Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 23 (3), 181-201. Doi: 10.1080/0022250X.1999.9990219
Feinberg, M.E., Riggs, N.R. and Greenberg, M.T., 2005. Social networks and community prevention coalitions. Journal of Primary Prevention, 26 (4), 279-298. Doi: 10.1007/s10935-005-5390-4
Freeman, L.C., 1979. Centrality in Social Networks: Conceptual Clarification. Social Networks, 1, 215-239. Doi: 10.1016/0378-8733(78)90021-7
Gest, S.D., Osgood, D.W., Feinberg, M.E., Bierman, K.L. and Moody, J., 2011. Strengthening prevention program theories and evaluations: Contributions from social network analysis. Prevention Science, 12 (4), 349-360.
Gulati, R., 1995. Social structure and alliance formation patterns: a longitudinal analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 619-652. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2393756
Granovetter, M., 1973. The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78 (6), 1360-1380. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2776392
Hansen, M.T., Podolny, J.M and Pfeffer, J., 2001. So many ties, so little time: A task contingency perspective on corporate social capital in organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 18, 21-57.
Knoke, D. and Yang, S., 2008. Social Network Analysis. (2nd Ed.). Sage Publications Thousand Oacks. California. C. A.
Krackardt, D. 1999. The ties that torture: Simmelian tie analysis in organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 16, 183-210.
Marsden, P.V. and Friedkin, N.E., 1993. Network studies of social influence. Sociological Methods Research, 22 (1), 127-151. Doi: 10.1177/0049124193022001006
Mitchell, J.C., 1969. Social networks in urban settings. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
Nahapiet, J. and Ghoshal, S., 1998. Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23 (2), 242-266. Doi: 10.5465/AMR.1998.533225
Obstfeld, D., 2005. Social networks, the tertius iungens orientation, and involvement in innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50, 100-130. Doi: 10.2189/asqu.2005.50.1.100
Owen-Smith, J. and Powell, W.W., 2004. Knowledge networks as channels and conduits: The effects of spillovers in the Boston biotechnology community. Organization Science, 15, 5-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1030.0054
Pettigrew, A.M., 1972. Information control as a power resource. Sociology, 6, 187-204. Doi: 10.1177/003803857200600202
Provan, K.G., Fish, A. and Sydow, J. 2007. Interorganizational Networks at the Network Level: A Review of the Empirical Literature on Whole Networks. Journal of Management, 33 (3), 479-516. Doi: 10.1177/0149206307302554
Provan, K.G., Huang, K. and Milward, B. 2009. The Evolution of Structural Embeddedness and Organizational Social Outcomes in a Centrally Governed Health and Human Services Network. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19, 873-893. Doi: 10.1093/jopart/mun036
Ramos-Vidal, I., 2015a. Social network analysis: an effective tool for evaluating community coalitions [In Spanish] Análisis de Redes Sociales: Una herramienta efectiva para la evaluación de coaliciones comunitarias. Revista de Salud Pública, 17 (3), 323-336. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/rsap.v17n3.43051
Ramos-Vidal, I. 2015b. Structural analysis strategies applied to assess Public Policies [In Spanish] Estrategias de análisis estructural aplicadas a la evaluación de Políticas Públicas. Gestión y Análisis de Políticas Públicas, 14, 1-17. http://revistasonline.inap.es/index.php?journal=GAPP&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=10289
Ramos-Vidal, I. 2015c. Contributions of Social Network Analysis to assess Social Capital at individual and collective levels of analysis [In Spanish] Aportaciones del Análisis de Redes Sociales para evaluar el Capital Social a nivel individual y colectivo. In Carlos Contreras and Clara I. Charry (Coords.), Social capital: alternative approaches Capital social: enfoques alternativos (pp. 57-81). Anthropos, México DF.
Ramos-Vidal, I. and Maya-Jariego, I., 2013. Partnerships and collaborative networks between organizations for Performing Arts in Andalusia [In Spanish] Alianzas y redes de colaboración entre las agrupaciones culturales de las Artes Escénicas en Andalucía Empiria: Revista de Metodología en Ciencias Sociales, 26 (2), 15-34. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/empiria.26.2013.7151
Ring, P.S. and Van de Ven, A.H., 1994. Developmental processes of cooperative interorganizational relationships. Academy of Management Review, 19 (1), 90-118. Doi: 10.5465/AMR.1994.9410122009
Sytch, M., Tatarynowicz, A. and Gulati, R., 2012. Toward a Theory of Extended Contact: The Incentives and Opportunities for Bridging Across Network Communities. Organization Science, 23 (6), 1658-1681. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0712
Uzzi, B., 1997. Social structure and competition in interfirm networks: the paradox of embeddedness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42 (1), 35-67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2393808
Uzzi, B. and Spiro, J., 2005. Collaboration and Creativity: The Small World Problem. American Journal of Sociology, 111, 447-504. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/432782
Valente, T.W., Coronges, K.A., Stevens, G.D. and Cousineau, M.R., 2008. Collaboration and competition in a children’s health initiative coalition: A network analysis. Evaluation and Program Planning, 31 (4), 392-402.
Valente, T.W., Palinkas, L.A., Czaja, S., Chu, K.H. and Brown, C.H., 2015. Social network analysis for program implementation. PloS One, 10 (6), e0131712.
Wasserman, S. and Faust, K., 1994. Social network analysis: Methods and applications. New York. Cambridge University Press.
Watts, D.J., 1999. Small worlds: the dynamics of networks between order and randomness. Princeton University Press.
Watts, D. and Dodds, P., 2007. Influentials, networks, and public opinion formation. Journal of Consumer Research, 34 (4), 441-458. Doi: 10.1086/518527
Zaheer, A. and Bell, G.G., 2005. Benefiting from network position: firm capabilities, structural holes, and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 26 (9), 809-825. Doi: 10.1002/smj.482
Zaheer, A. and Venkatraman, N., 1995. Relational governance as an interorganizational strategy: An empirical test of the role of trust in economic exchange. Strategic Management Journal, 16 (5), 373-392. Doi: 10.1002/smj.4250160504
Barringer, B.R. and Harrison, J.S., 2000. Walking a tightrope: Creating value through interorganizational relationships. Journal of Management, 2 (3), 367-403. Doi: 10.1177/014920630002600302
Baur, M., Benkert, M., Brandes, U., Cornelsen, S., Gaertler, M., Köpf, B., Wagner, D., et al., 2001. Visone Software for visual social network analysis. En Graph Drawing (pp. 463-464). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Borgatti, S.P., 1997. Structural holes. Unpacking Burt’s redundancy measures. Connections, 20 (1), 35-38.
Borgatti, S.P., 2006. Identifying sets of key players in a social network. Computational Mathematical Organizational Theory, 12, 21-34. Doi: 10.1007/s10588-006-7084-x
Borgatti, S.P. and Dreyfus, D., 2003. Keyplayer: Naval Research Software. Lexington, KY, Harvard, Analytic Technologies.
Borgatti, S.P. and Everett, M.G., 1999. Models of Core/Periphery structures. Social Networks, 21, 375-395. Doi: 10.1016/S0378-8733(99)00019-2
Borgatti, S.P. and Everett, M.G., 2006. A graph-theoretic perspective on centrality. Social Networks, 28 (4), 466-484. doi:10.1016/j.socnet.2005.11.005
Borgatti, S.P., Everett, M.G. and Freeman, L.C., 2002. Ucinet for Windows: Software for Social Network Analysis. Harvard, MA: Analytic Technologies.
Borgatti, S.P., Jones, C. and Everett, M.G., 1998. Networks measures of social capital. Connections, 21 (2), 36-51.
Borgatti, S.P., Mehra, A., Brass, D.J. and Labianca, G., 2009. Network Analysis in Social Science. Science, 323, 892-895. Doi: 10.1126/science.1165821
Brass, D.J. and Burkhardt, M.E., 1993. Potential power and power use: An investigation of structure and behaviour. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 441-470. Doi: 10.2307/256588
Burt, R.S., 1992. Structural holes: The social structure of competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
Burt, R.S., 1999. The social capital of opinion leaders. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 566 (1), 37-54. Doi: 10.1177/000271629956600104
Burt, R.S., 2000. The network structure of social capital. Research in Organizational Behavior, 22, 345-423. Doi:10.1016/S0191-3085(00)22009-1
Buskens, V. and Van de Rijt, A., 2008. Dynamics of networks if everyone strives for structural holes. American Journal of Sociology, 114 (2), 371-407. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/590674
Chesbrough, H. and Crowther, A.K., 2006. Beyond high tech: early adopters of open innovation in other industries. R&D Management, 36 (3), 229-236. Doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9310.2006.00428.x
Crowe, J., 2007. In search of a happy medium: How the structure of interorganizational networks influence community economic development strategies. Social Networks, 29 (4), 469-488. Doi: 10.1016/j.socnet.2007.02.002
Danaraj, C. and Parkhe, A., 2006. Orchestrating innovation networks. Academy of Management Review, 31 (3), 659-669. Doi: 10.5465/AMR.2006.21318923
Dyer, J.H. and Singh, H., 1998. The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23 (4), 660-679. Doi: 10.5465/AMR.1998.1255632
Everett, M.G. and Borgatti, S.P., 1999. The centrality of groups and classes. The Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 23 (3), 181-201. Doi: 10.1080/0022250X.1999.9990219
Feinberg, M.E., Riggs, N.R. and Greenberg, M.T., 2005. Social networks and community prevention coalitions. Journal of Primary Prevention, 26 (4), 279-298. Doi: 10.1007/s10935-005-5390-4
Freeman, L.C., 1979. Centrality in Social Networks: Conceptual Clarification. Social Networks, 1, 215-239. Doi: 10.1016/0378-8733(78)90021-7
Gest, S.D., Osgood, D.W., Feinberg, M.E., Bierman, K.L. and Moody, J., 2011. Strengthening prevention program theories and evaluations: Contributions from social network analysis. Prevention Science, 12 (4), 349-360.
Gulati, R., 1995. Social structure and alliance formation patterns: a longitudinal analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 619-652. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2393756
Granovetter, M., 1973. The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78 (6), 1360-1380. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2776392
Hansen, M.T., Podolny, J.M and Pfeffer, J., 2001. So many ties, so little time: A task contingency perspective on corporate social capital in organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 18, 21-57.
Knoke, D. and Yang, S., 2008. Social Network Analysis. (2nd Ed.). Sage Publications Thousand Oacks. California. C. A.
Krackardt, D. 1999. The ties that torture: Simmelian tie analysis in organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 16, 183-210.
Marsden, P.V. and Friedkin, N.E., 1993. Network studies of social influence. Sociological Methods Research, 22 (1), 127-151. Doi: 10.1177/0049124193022001006
Mitchell, J.C., 1969. Social networks in urban settings. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
Nahapiet, J. and Ghoshal, S., 1998. Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23 (2), 242-266. Doi: 10.5465/AMR.1998.533225
Obstfeld, D., 2005. Social networks, the tertius iungens orientation, and involvement in innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50, 100-130. Doi: 10.2189/asqu.2005.50.1.100
Owen-Smith, J. and Powell, W.W., 2004. Knowledge networks as channels and conduits: The effects of spillovers in the Boston biotechnology community. Organization Science, 15, 5-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1030.0054
Pettigrew, A.M., 1972. Information control as a power resource. Sociology, 6, 187-204. Doi: 10.1177/003803857200600202
Provan, K.G., Fish, A. and Sydow, J. 2007. Interorganizational Networks at the Network Level: A Review of the Empirical Literature on Whole Networks. Journal of Management, 33 (3), 479-516. Doi: 10.1177/0149206307302554
Provan, K.G., Huang, K. and Milward, B. 2009. The Evolution of Structural Embeddedness and Organizational Social Outcomes in a Centrally Governed Health and Human Services Network. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19, 873-893. Doi: 10.1093/jopart/mun036
Ramos-Vidal, I., 2015a. Social network analysis: an effective tool for evaluating community coalitions [In Spanish] Análisis de Redes Sociales: Una herramienta efectiva para la evaluación de coaliciones comunitarias. Revista de Salud Pública, 17 (3), 323-336. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/rsap.v17n3.43051
Ramos-Vidal, I. 2015b. Structural analysis strategies applied to assess Public Policies [In Spanish] Estrategias de análisis estructural aplicadas a la evaluación de Políticas Públicas. Gestión y Análisis de Políticas Públicas, 14, 1-17. http://revistasonline.inap.es/index.php?journal=GAPP&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=10289
Ramos-Vidal, I. 2015c. Contributions of Social Network Analysis to assess Social Capital at individual and collective levels of analysis [In Spanish] Aportaciones del Análisis de Redes Sociales para evaluar el Capital Social a nivel individual y colectivo. In Carlos Contreras and Clara I. Charry (Coords.), Social capital: alternative approaches Capital social: enfoques alternativos (pp. 57-81). Anthropos, México DF.
Ramos-Vidal, I. and Maya-Jariego, I., 2013. Partnerships and collaborative networks between organizations for Performing Arts in Andalusia [In Spanish] Alianzas y redes de colaboración entre las agrupaciones culturales de las Artes Escénicas en Andalucía Empiria: Revista de Metodología en Ciencias Sociales, 26 (2), 15-34. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/empiria.26.2013.7151
Ring, P.S. and Van de Ven, A.H., 1994. Developmental processes of cooperative interorganizational relationships. Academy of Management Review, 19 (1), 90-118. Doi: 10.5465/AMR.1994.9410122009
Sytch, M., Tatarynowicz, A. and Gulati, R., 2012. Toward a Theory of Extended Contact: The Incentives and Opportunities for Bridging Across Network Communities. Organization Science, 23 (6), 1658-1681. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0712
Uzzi, B., 1997. Social structure and competition in interfirm networks: the paradox of embeddedness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42 (1), 35-67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2393808
Uzzi, B. and Spiro, J., 2005. Collaboration and Creativity: The Small World Problem. American Journal of Sociology, 111, 447-504. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/432782
Valente, T.W., Coronges, K.A., Stevens, G.D. and Cousineau, M.R., 2008. Collaboration and competition in a children’s health initiative coalition: A network analysis. Evaluation and Program Planning, 31 (4), 392-402.
Valente, T.W., Palinkas, L.A., Czaja, S., Chu, K.H. and Brown, C.H., 2015. Social network analysis for program implementation. PloS One, 10 (6), e0131712.
Wasserman, S. and Faust, K., 1994. Social network analysis: Methods and applications. New York. Cambridge University Press.
Watts, D.J., 1999. Small worlds: the dynamics of networks between order and randomness. Princeton University Press.
Watts, D. and Dodds, P., 2007. Influentials, networks, and public opinion formation. Journal of Consumer Research, 34 (4), 441-458. Doi: 10.1086/518527
Zaheer, A. and Bell, G.G., 2005. Benefiting from network position: firm capabilities, structural holes, and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 26 (9), 809-825. Doi: 10.1002/smj.482
Zaheer, A. and Venkatraman, N., 1995. Relational governance as an interorganizational strategy: An empirical test of the role of trust in economic exchange. Strategic Management Journal, 16 (5), 373-392. Doi: 10.1002/smj.4250160504
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