Agents prefer sparse social clouds

Abstract

What social cloud structure is likely to emerge when agents engage in closeness-based resource-sharing and establish their resource-sharing network strategically? This is the central question of this research. This letter looks at how cost-benefit trade-offs in maintaining connections, and resource supply and demand influence network formation. The study reveals that agents prefer a sparse network over a dense one. A dense network is likely to form when demand exceeds supply, while a sparse network is likely to form when supply exceeds demand.