Abstract
Abstract This study analyzes the network evolution, specifically that of the Brazilian film network. It examines two generative mechanisms that lie behind the network evolution: preferential attachment and fitness. The starting point is that preferential attachment and fitness may compete to shape the network evolution. We built a novel dataset with 974 Brazilian feature films released between 1995 and 2017 and used PAFit, a brand-new statistical method, to estimate the joint effects of preferential attachment and fitness on the evolution of the Brazilian film network. This study concludes that the network evolution is shaped by both preferential attachment and fitness. However, in the presence of fitness, the effects of preferential attachment on the network evolution become weaker. This means that the node ability to form ties in the Brazilian film network is mainly explained by its fitness. Besides, the preferential attachment assumes a sub-linear form. Costs, communication and managerial capabilities, and node age explain why nodes are unable to accumulate ties at rates proportional to their degree. Finally, preferential attachment and fitness manifest themselves heterogeneously, depending on either the type or the duration of the network. Preferential attachment drives the cast network evolution, whereas fitness is the main generative mechanism of the crew network. Actors and actresses rely on their status, privilege, and power to obtain future contracts (preferential attachment), whereas technical members are selected on the basis of their talent, skills, and knowledge (fitness). Due to node age or exit, preferential attachment becomes stronger in shorter networks.
Highlights
Networks are an important topic for organizational studies (Ahuja, Soda, & Zaheer, 2012; Kenis & Raab, 2020), as the literature is vast (Carpenter, Li, & Jiang, 2012; Kirschbaum, 2019)
This study suggests that the knowledge of the network evolution, affected by either preferential attachment or fitness, has progressed considerably, even though such a progress is more visible in complex networks (Barabási, 2016)
The results presented support the claim of Pham et al (2017), who argue that the effects of preferential attachment on the network evolution are overestimated in past research because the generative mechanism is analyzed in the absence of a competitive mechanism
Summary
Networks are an important topic for organizational studies (Ahuja, Soda, & Zaheer, 2012; Kenis & Raab, 2020), as the literature is vast (Carpenter, Li, & Jiang, 2012; Kirschbaum, 2019). Research argues that such benefits and penalties are not perennial but vary as networks evolve (Ahuja et al, 2012), displaying persistence and change (Zaheer & Soda, 2009). 281), who are scholars from different knowledge domains, agree that this research topic is not well understood. In this sense, the network microdynamics (Ahuja et al) or the generative mechanisms (Bianconi & Barabási, 2001) that drive the network evolution deserve further attention (Abbasi). That means understanding how competing generative mechanisms shape the formation, development, and even dissolution of networks (Corbo, Corrado, & Ferriani, 2016; Powell, White, Koput, & Owen-Smith, 2005)
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