How Should We Study Relational Structure? Critically Comparing the Epistemological Positions of Social Network Analysis and Field Theory

Sociology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 762-778
Author(s):  
Sourabh Singh
Keyword(s):  
Field Theory ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Relational Structure ◽  
History Of ◽  
Epistemological Position ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Epistemological Break

I argue that the main difference between two schools of relational sociology – field theory and social network analysis – lies in the difference between their respective epistemological stances rather than between their ontological assumptions. While social network analysts have developed sophisticated quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, they epistemologically rely on their commonsensical understanding of relational structure. In contrast, field theorists are expected to study relational structure by making an epistemological break from their commonsensical understanding of relational structure. Social network analysts’ epistemological position reveals only social ties as the form of relational structure. Field theory’s epistemological position reveals multiple forms of relational structure, including but not limited to those formed by social ties. The main lesson to be learned is that relational sociologists must develop their notion of relational structure by investigating the history of contests among field actors over the meaning of being a member of their field.

Do shareholder's independency and board size affect synergies from cross-border bank mergers and acquisitions? International evidence from social network analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-Hung Chen ◽  
Feng-Jui Hsu ◽  
Ying-Chen Lai
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The Difference

PurposeThere is little known globally on the association among the independent shareholder, board size and merger and acquisition (M&A) performance. This paper addresses the global issue about cross-border M&A in banking sector, particularly exploring the role of difference in the independent shareholder and board size between acquirer and target banks on synergy gains based on the international study.Design/methodology/approachBased on cross-border bank M&As data on 59 deals from 1995 to 2009, we initially apply social network analysis techniques to explore the country connectedness of the acquirer-target banks in cross-border M&As. Ordinary least squares (OLS) with robust standard errors is further used to investigate synergy gains within the difference in the degree of bank independent shareholder and board sizes between the acquirer and target banks.FindingsOur results indicate that the acquiring banks are generally interconnected with the targeted banks and that some of acquiring banks are clearly concentrated in Asian countries including China, Hong Kong, and Philippines. Moreover, we find that cross-border M&As with larger difference in independent shareholders between the bidder and target bank would result in higher synergy gains in all cases of takeover premiums on 1 day, 1 week and 4 weeks. In addition, financial differences between the bidder and target banks have a significant impact on synergetic gains, a topic not explored in previous studies. There is no evidence that institutional and governance differences between bidder and target bank have significant cross-border impacts on takeover premiums with respect to 1 day, 1 week and 4 weeks, respectively.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature by exploring the international issue about the role of difference in the degree of bank independent shareholder and board sizes between acquirer and target banks on synergy gains. Based on bank cross-border M&As data on 59 deals from 1995 to 2009, we initially apply social network analysis to explore the country connectedness of acquirer-target bank in cross-border M&As, while ten ordinary least squares (OLS) with robust standard errors is used to investigate synergy gains within the difference in the degree of bank independent shareholder and board sizes between acquirer and target banks.

scholarly journals PSII-19 Social structures, social ties, and development of tail biting in growing-finishing pigs

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 236-236
Author(s):  
Yuzhi Li ◽  
Lee J Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Finishing Pigs ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Association Index ◽  
Tail Biting ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Binary Matrices

Abstract The association between social structure and development of tail biting was evaluated in this study. Pigs with intact tails (n = 96, initial weight = 25.0 ± 3.0 kg) were assigned to treatment based on their litter origin: littermates, non-littermates, and half-group littermates (4 pigs per litter). Four pens (8 pigs/pen) of each litter origin treatment were studied for 14 weeks. Tail injury was assessed weekly. Pigs with visible blood were considered victims of tail-biting. Behavior of pigs was video-recorded between 0900h and 1500h at 4-week intervals starting one week after study initiation. Video-recordings were viewed continuously to identify tail-biting events and tail biters in each pen. A pig that bit the tail of another pig causing reactions of the recipient was identified as a tail-biter. Pigs that were neither biters nor victims were classified as “others”. For social network analysis, video-recordings were scanned at 10-min intervals to register pigs that were lying together (1) or not (0) in binary matrices. Half weight association index was used for social network construction. Social network analysis was performed using the UCINET software. Litter origin treatment did not affect growth performance. Fifty nine percent of the littermate treatment (Chi-square = 11.6; P = 0.02), 34% of the half-group littermate treatment, and 22% of the non-littermate treatment were identified as victims. Littermate treatment had lower network density (Table 1) and fewer social ties than the non-littermate treatment, indicating that littermates were less socially connected with each other at the pen level. At the dyad level, the littermate treatment formed more social ties between biters and victims, and fewer ties between victims and others than non-littermates (Table 1). These results suggest that more social ties between biters and victims, and fewer social ties between victims and others may predispose littermates to development of tail biting.

A Social Network Analysis of the Literature on Management Control

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Euske ◽  
James W. Hesford ◽  
Mary A. Malina
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Citation Data ◽  
Diffusion Of Knowledge ◽  
Control Research ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the literature on management control published in accounting and management journals. Social network analysis of citation data from the 25-year period 1981–2005 enables us to examine topics and ties among researchers. Social ties have important consequences for the development of the literature, shaping topics, research methods, and the diffusion of knowledge. We observe minimal communication between the two disciplines, appearing as two distinct communities despite similar interests. This lack of communication includes citations and authoring across the two disciplines. When citations across disciplines occur, it is almost exclusively accounting authors citing management authors, not vice versa. There is virtually no joining of accounting and management scholars within social networks. Within the two broader communities, there also exist smaller research clusters. While we cannot determine the impact this has on our understanding of management control, we discuss possible reasons for this phenomenon and its potential implications for management control research. Data Availability: Data were gathered from publicly available sources.

scholarly journals Social network analysis and festival cities: an exploration of concepts, literature and methods

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Jarman ◽  
Eleni Theodoraki ◽  
Hazel Hall ◽  
Jane Ali-Knight
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Dynamic Environments ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Secondary Material ◽  
Tourism Studies ◽  
History Of

Purpose – Social network analysis (SNA) is an under-utilised framework for research into festivals and events. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the history of SNA and explore its key concepts, in order that they might be applied to festivals and their environments. Design/methodology/approach – Secondary material underpins the paper, primarily SNA literature, tourism studies research and festival industry publications. Findings – Festival cities offer dynamic environments in which to investigate the workings of social networks. The importance of such networks has long been recognised within the industry, yet there is scant reflection of this in the event studies literature. Uses of SNA in tourism studies publications offer some precedents. Originality/value – This paper emphasises the importance of relationships between people in a festival economy, complementing and building upon stakeholder analyses. A research method is proposed, suitable for application across a diverse range of festivals and events.

The Relationship between Governance Networks and Social Networks: Progress, Problems and Prospects

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaby Ramia ◽  
Roger Patulny ◽  
Greg Marston ◽  
Kyla Cassells
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
The Social ◽  
Power Differentials ◽  
Governance Networks ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Relationship

A governance networks literature that uses social network analysis has emerged, but research tends to be more technical than conceptual. This restricts its accessibility and usefulness for non-quantitative scholars and practitioners alike. Furthermore, the literature has not adequately appreciated the importance of informal networking for the effective operation of governance networks. This can hinder inter-disciplinary analysis. Through a critical review, this article identifies four areas of challenge for the governance networks literature and offers four corresponding, complementary sets of concepts from the social network analysis field: (a) the difference between policy networks and governance networks, (b) the role and status of people in governance networks, (c) the ‘dark side’ of networks and the role of power differentials within them and (d) network evaluation and the question of ‘what works’ in network management. The article argues that a less technical, more accessible account of social network analysis offers an additional lens through which to view governance networks.

scholarly journals A Method of Vehicle Route Prediction Based on Social Network Analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Ye ◽  
Zhong-qin Wang ◽  
Reza Malekian ◽  
Ying-ya Zhang ◽  
Ru-chuan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Vehicle Route ◽  
Route Prediction ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Leave One Out

A method of vehicle route prediction based on social network analysis is proposed in this paper. The difference from proposed work is that, according to our collected vehicles’ past trips, we build a relationship model between different road segments rather than find the driving regularity of vehicles to predict upcoming routes. In this paper, firstly we depend on graph theory to build an initial road network model and modify related model parameters based on the collected data set. Then we transform the model into a matrix. Secondly, two concepts from social network analysis are introduced to describe the meaning of the matrix and we process it by current software of social network analysis. Thirdly, we design the algorithm of vehicle route prediction based on the above processing results. Finally, we use the leave-one-out approach to verify the efficiency of our algorithm.

Social network analyses of positive and negative relationships among Japanese preschool classmates

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko K. Fujisawa ◽  
Nobuyuki Kutsukake ◽  
Toshikazu Hasegawa
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Positive Relationships ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Negative Relationships ◽  
Social Network Analyses

Using social network analysis, we investigated the characteristics of social networks composed of positive relationships (positive network: PN) and negative relationships (negative network: NN) in classrooms of Japanese 3- and 4-year-olds. Analysis of “density” showed that PNs were denser than NNs among 4-year-olds but that this was not the case among 3-year-olds. The difference between the probability of dyads of girls forming cliques, between PNs and NNs, was larger than that for dyads of boys or mixed-sex dyads. Four-year-olds formed cliques more often in PNs than in NNs, compared to 3-year-olds. This study showed that both sex combination of dyads and age affect the quantified properties of social networks among preschoolers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document