Network Theory and Grand Strategy

A number of analysts claim that the rise of various “networks”—from transnational terrorism to global supply chains—necessitate changes in grand strategy. But only recently have scholars turned to tools and concepts from network analysis to study grand strategy. This chapter reviews the different meanings of “networks” in the broader literature on grand strategy. It argues that attention to the network structure and relational dynamics of international politics—whether in terms of alliances and partnerships, economic flows, interorganizational ties, or other kinds of connections—will help us understand both the causes and consequences of grand strategy. Much of grand strategy is concerned with the manipulation or formation of international networks. Since such ties and flows also form a major part of the topography of international politics, understanding network dynamics is crucial to making sense of the opportunities and constraints that shape grand strategy.

Corporate boards, interorganizational ties and profitability: the case of Japan

We analyze the ties between 4000 Japanese corporations in the time period from 2004 until 2013. We combine data about the board composition with ownership relationships and indicators of corporate profitability. The board network exhibits some clustering, which can partly be explained by ownership relations, and a tendency to form ties to other corporations from the same sector. Connectivity in the board network (corporate board interlocks) and ownership network (shareholdings) does have an influence profitability. Firms that are linked to peers with above average profitability are more profitable than firms in other relationships. Hence, network effects partly explain why board interlocks and ownership ties are not always beneficial.

What to lobby on? Explaining why large American firms lobby on the same or different issues

What determines whether or not firms lobby on the same policy issues? Scholars offer two broad answers to this question. Firms that are (1) similar or (2) connected through interorganizational ties target the same policy issues. In this article, I argue that the co-occurrence of these two conditions produces the opposite outcome, namely a tendency to lobby on different issues. This expectation draws on ideas from collective action theory and the literature on issue niches. From these, I derive the following assumptions: similar firms share political objectives and they should, when possible, act collectively by jointly delegating their lobbying activities. The reason for doing this is that it allows them to focus on their issue niches. However, the ability to delegate hinges on coordination and monitoring, which is facilitated by interorganizational relations. To test this proposition, I study the largest American corporations. The dependent variable is activity overlap, a measure of the extent to which firms lobby on the same issues. According to expectations, activity overlap is reduced when firms operate in the same industry and, simultaneously, enjoy favorable conditions for social interactions, such as a concentrated market structure. These results lend support to collective action theory.

How do different types of interorganizational ties matter in technological exploration?

Purpose Boundary-spanning exploration through establishing alliances is an effective strategy to explore technologies beyond local search in innovating firms. The purpose of this paper is to argue that it is useful to make a distinction in boundary-spanning exploration between what a firm learns from its alliance partners (explorative learning from partners (ELP)) and what it learns from other organisations (explorative learning from non-partners (ELN)). Design/methodology/approach The authors contend that alliances play a role in both types of exploration. More specifically, the authors discern three types of alliances (inside ties, clique-spanning ties and outside ties) based on their role vis-à-vis existing alliance cliques. Clique members are highly embedded, and breaking out of the cliques through clique-spanning and outside alliances is crucial to improving explorative learning. Thereafter, the authors claim that clique-spanning ties and outside ties have a different effect on ELN and ELP. Findings The empirical analysis of the “application specific integrated circuits” industry indicates that inside ties have negligible effects on both types of explorative learning. Clique-spanning ties have a positive effect on ELP, but not on ELN. The reverse is true for outside ties. The results show that research on explorative learning should devote greater attention to the various roles alliance partners and types of alliances play in advancing technological exploration. Originality/value The literature only emphasises the learning from partners, focussing mainly on accessing their technology. In sum, alliance partners play different roles in exploration, and their network position influences the role they are able to play.

Bring publics back into networked public relations research: A dual-projection approach for network ecology

This essay critiques the absence of publics in networked public relations research, and proposes the dual-projection approach as a solution to simplify and analyze the multi-mode public relations network ecology (Yang & Taylor, 2015). Compared to most previous studies that employ organization-centric networks where ties stand for hyperlinks, collaborations, or coalitions, the new approach projects organization-public relationships and public-public relationships onto interorganizational ties. By doing so, it 1) brings publics back into networked public relations research; 2) presents organizations and publics—the two most important subjects of public relations research—equally in the same network, 3) drives literature further away from a dyadic view of relationship management, and 4) constitutes one of the first techniques that can analyze direct and timely consequences of organization-public relationships in the network ecology. To demonstrate the new approach, the network of publics overlap is introduced and applied to US-based LGBTQ advocacy groups. The essay also discusses the theoretical inquiries needed to further dual-projection networks, and invites scholars to create novel ways to incorporate publics into their network studies using dual projection.

La recherche avec les groupes d'entraide: les difficultés méthodologiques et les défis

ABSTRACTThe objective of this paper is to review the difficulties associated with measuring self-help groups for what they are, and the methodology used. This report identifies issues inherent to research on self-help groups for the elderly. Elderly group participants sharing a common problem and meeting to discuss it without the benefit of professional support will, without doubt, become a more and more prevalent resource for use in the future. Consequently, it is imperative to ascertain which questions the researchers should be asking. Three research objectives are described: descriptive studies, process examination and the assessment of outcomes considered relevant to self-help groups. The discussion addresses three types of objects under study: the group participants, the group itself and the interorganizational ties established by the group, particularly in dealing with health service agencies.