Different Types Of Ties Research Articles

Analysing networks of networks

We consider data with multiple observations or reports on a network in the case when these networks themselves are connected through some form of network ties. We could take the example of a cognitive social structure where there is another type of tie connecting the actors that provide the reports; or the study of interpersonal spillover effects from one cultural domain to another facilitated by the social ties. Another example is when the individual semantic structures are represented as semantic networks of a group of actors and connected through these actors’ social ties to constitute knowledge of a social group. How to jointly represent the two types of networks is not trivial as the layers and not the nodes of the layers of the reported networks are coupled through a network on the reports. We propose to transform the different multiple networks using line graphs, where actors are affiliated with ties represented as nodes, and represent the totality of the different types of ties as a multilevel network. This affords studying the associations between the social network and the reports as well as the alignment of the reports to a criterion graph. We illustrate how the procedure can be applied to studying the social construction of knowledge in local flood management groups. Here we use multilevel exponential random graph models but the representation also lends itself to stochastic actor-oriented models, multilevel blockmodels, and any model capable of handling multilevel networks.

How Do Political and Business Ties Matter for Supply Chain Management Capability? An Empirical Test of an Integrative Framework

Supply chain management capability has become increasingly important in highly dynamic and uncertain situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, our systematic literature review indicates that little is known about how different types of ties influence the intention of firms to adopt B2B platforms and improve international performance. This study aims to explore the important role of political and business ties in the development of supply chain management capability by arguing that political and business ties are positively related to the development of supply chain management capability, which is proposed to shape the intention of firms to adopt B2B platforms and their international performance. Furthermore, we also attempt to develop a framework between potential strategic needs for a firm’s supply chain capability development and different ties. Using survey data collected from a sample of 369 firms in China, we test these proposed arguments empirically through structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. Results demonstrate that political and business ties contribute positively to developing a firm’s supply chain capability, positively related to the firm’s intention to adopt B2B platforms and international performance. In addition, our study also reveals that supply chain risk significantly modifies the relationships between political or business ties and supply chain capability development. This study provides important contributions to the literature by extending prior research on supply chain management and offers important insights into our understanding of the successful development of supply chain management capability, intention to adopt B2B platforms, and international performance improvement. We believe our findings can help inform how firms can develop supply chain management capability by utilizing different ties.

When life happens: A multidimensional approach to studying the effects of major life events on relationship change

Network theories and life course theories have made significant contributions to the study of relationship change over time. However, much prior work takes a unidimensional approach and conceptualizes "change" in terms of the loss of a tie or the loss of a specific function of a tie. Our paper problematizes "loss" in two ways. First, we conceptualize tie status in terms of active, inactive, and fully dissolved as reported by respondents. Second, we propose a multidimensional approach to studying the relationship change as the result of experiencing major life events. Our main innovation is synthesizing network theories and life course theories to produce a framework for studying relationship change that incorporates types of ties, experiencing major life events, and their interacting effects on specific aspects of the relationship. Based on analyzing a sample of 687 ties collected from 98 respondents, we argue that life events do not have sweeping influence across different types of ties or different aspects of ties. Instead, relationship change in response to life events can occur in changes in the active status of the tie, the interactive aspect of the tie, and the affective aspect of the tie, and which aspects change is dependent on the type of relationship.

Rethinking Social Relationships in Adulthood: The Differential Investment of Resources Model

Empirical evidence about the development of social relationships across adulthood into late life continues to accumulate, but theoretical development has lagged behind. The Differential Investment of Resources (DIRe) model integrates these empirical advances. The model defines the investment of time and energy into social ties varying in terms of emotional closeness and kinship as the core mechanism explaining the formation and maintenance of social networks. Individual characteristics, acting as capacities, motivations, and skills, determine the amount, direction, and efficacy of the investment. The context (e.g., the living situation) affects the social opportunity structure, the amount of time and energy available, and individual characteristics. Finally, the model describes two feedback loops: (a) social capital affecting the individual’s living situation and (b) different types of ties impacting individual characteristics via social exchanges, social influences, and social evaluations. The proposed model will provide a theoretical basis for future research and hypothesis testing.

Too tied to fail: a multidimensional approach to social capital in crowdfunding campaigns. Evidences from Italian agri-food businesses

PurposeThe authors investigate the contributions of social capital (SC) dimensions (bridging, bonding and linking) in crowdfunding campaigns by comparing the dynamics of agri-food businesses with those of two other sectors – cultural and technological.Design/methodology/approachThe authors develop linear regressions on a proprietary data set of 5,290 projects launched on the Italian platform “Produzionidalbasso.com”, from 2014 to 2020.FindingsThe authors’ findings suggest that combining the three social capital dimensions (bridging, bonding and linking) has a more substantial overall effect on the number of backers involved in agri-food projects than in cultural and technological projects. Agri-food entrepreneurs effectively mobilize all resources embedded in the SC dimensions and therefore create the conditions to develop new ties that financially support the project.Practical implicationsAgri-food entrepreneurs may benefit from those results improving their funding strategies. Therefore, agri-food entrepreneurs can explore and exploit the instruments available on the CFD platform – video and rewards associated with the campaign – gaining more benefit from the backers involved compared with other project categories.Originality/valueThe study proposes a broader perspective regarding SC that encompasses the proponent, the company and the campaign with three different types of ties: bonding, bridging and linking. These SC dimensions can differently shape diverse sectors and this eclectic configuration can differentiate the effects of SC in crowdfunding campaigns. This study pinpoints how crowdfunding determinants change, based on project categories.

Territorial Public Self-Government as an Element of Political Infrastructure for Secure Development of Municipal Sections in the Conditions of Digitalization

The research is devoted to the topic of forming a political infrastructure for the safe development of municipalities, creating technologies for attracting political infrastructure participants to the development and assessment of alternatives for the optimal development of territories.We set ourselves the goal of showing territorial public self-government as a tool for increasing the openness of political decision-making and public confidence in the authorities, and identifying the transformational potential of digital technologies in the context of territorial public self-government.The methodological basis of the research was provided by such theories as: the information cybernetic model of the political system of K. Deutsch, the theory of the political system of D. Easton, the theory of deliberative democracy by J. Besset, the theory of direct democracy I. Blo, model of monitor (digital) democracy by J. Keane.The main results of this study are the following:1) the author’s definition of the concept of “digitalization” was introduced — this is a process of radical transformation of the interaction of people in all spheres of social life, the implementation of which became possible on the basis of replacing analog (physical) data collection and processing systems with new technological systems that generate, transmit and process a digital signal about your condition. This transformation presupposes the formation of a different outlook of citizens, the use of other methods of management;2) the author’s definition of the concept of “political infrastructure” is introduced — these are the types of connections between the elements of the political system. Different types of ties form various modifications of political institutions, they determine the contours of political communications carried out in the political space, including using various political technologies to influence the behavior of political forces.3) in the context of digitalization, interactive interaction of participants in the political process, the very configuration of the political infrastructure for the development of territories is changing, the political toolkit of dialogue between the authorities and society is changing, implying an increasingly widespread use of technologies to involve participants in political processes in the development and assessment of alternatives for optimal territorial development.

Strong ties, information seeking, and ecosystem brokerage among actors in the Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem

While weak ties have received considerable research attention, less is known about the role of strong ties in this context or the interplay among different types of ties. This study addressed this gap, at least partially, by investigating the outreach made by Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs to improve their businesses through a survey of knowledge-seeking behaviors of 533 Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs identified 1666 different ecosystem actors among 3397 separate knowledge-seeking events. The findings from this study highlight the importance of a confluence of strong and weak ties in serving as conduits through which entrepreneurs secure resources from ecosystem support providers. When a breadth of knowledge is required (i.e. both business and technical), entrepreneurial firms establish strong ties with specific government agencies and universities. When primarily business knowledge is needed, entrepreneurial firms form strong ties with government agencies, while government agencies in turn establish strong ties with a wider range of stakeholders across the ecosystem actors. Finally, when primarily technical knowledge is needed the strong ties are leveraged primarily by entrepreneurial firms to embed themselves within the partner organizations, which tend to be universities and professional service organizations. The article concludes with implications for theory and practice.

Social ties and the political participation of firms

It is widely accepted that better-connected firms exercise more political influence. However, because both social ties and political influence are difficult to observe, it remains little understood how different types of ties affect different types of political action. We develop new theory that contrasts the effects of ties to other firms in the same industry (peer ties) with ties to elected officials and bureaucrats (government ties). We argue that peer ties are useful for facilitating collective action, which is most often used to seek influence over broad policy issues that affect many firms. In contrast, while government ties are more versatile, these should primarily also allow firms to pursue narrow, particularistic issues that benefit only one or a small number of firms. Using a new survey of foreign-owned firms operating in the Philippines, we demonstrate that peer ties play an important role in firms’ efforts to influence policy at the national level, where issues are more likely to affect large numbers of firms. Government ties are also valuable, though primarily at the local level, where issues are more likely to affect a smaller number of firms.

“Who Are You Going to Call?” Network Activation in Creative Idea Generation and Elaboration

Considering creativity as a journey beyond idea generation, scholars have theorized that different ties are beneficial in different phases. As individuals usually possess different types of ties, s...

Rethinking Social Relationships: The Differential Investment of Resources Model of Social Development

The empirical evidence concerned with the centrality of social relations to individual functioning across adulthood continues to accumulate. Theoretical development about age-related changes in social relationships, however, has lagged behind. In particular, existing theories either do not account for the influence of the developmental context, or are difficult to examine empirically because they do not posit specific testable mechanisms. We present a new conceptual model that we believe effectively incorporates much of the existing empirical work. The Differential Investment of Resources (DIRe) model has five distinct features. First, the model distinguishes between different types of ‘social ties’ by defining two crucial dimensions - closeness and kinship. Second, the investment of time and energy is defined as the core mechanism that explains the formation and maintenance of social ties. Third, individual characteristics, categorized as capacities, motivations, and skills, determine the amount, direction, and efficacy of the time and energy invested. Fourth, the model incorporates the developmental context: (a) in its effect on the social opportunity structure; (b) in its effect on time and energy; and (c) in its effect on the individual. Additionally, the social opportunity structure itself is determined by the individual’s existing social network ties (i.e., social capital). Finally, the model describes how different types of ties, in turn, affect individual characteristics via social functions (social exchanges, social evaluations, and social influences). The proposed model will not only stimulate a healthy new debate in the field, but will also provide a theoretical basis for future research and hypothesis-testing.

AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER FROM GLOBAL FLAGSHIPS TO LOCAL FIRMS IN GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS

It is known that global flagships’ capacity and willingness to transfer knowledge in global production networks will affect the knowledge acquisition of local firms. However, the mechanism is not clear enough, or rather scattered, and thus lacks an integrated model for comprehensive conceptualization. Adopting a sample of 105 Chinese firms, we construct an integrated two-stage model to interpret the mechanism of knowledge transfer from global flagships to local firms and find that global flagships’ capacity and willingness to transfer positively impact the knowledge acquired by local firms through the mediation of the knowledge contributed by the global flagships. Organizational distance and local firms’ absorptive capacity affect the knowledge acquired by local firms as well. The influences of the latter two also depend on the different types of ties between global flagships and local firms.

Suicidal ideation among North Korean refugees in South Korea: Exploring the influence of social network characteristics by gender.

Rates of death by suicide among North Korean refugees are three times higher than those among their host-country counterparts in South Korea. However, social and cultural factors predicting suicidality among North Korean refugees are not well known. Thus, we explored how social networks affect suicidal ideation in a sample of 405 North Korean refugees in South Korea using egocentric network data. Network diversity (number of different types of ties) was a protective factor for suicidal ideation among women. Having a help-providing and trustworthy church-based tie was a protective factor for women, whereas it was a risk factor for men. It is likely that women connected to people in diverse social contexts received more support to effectively deal with adversities. Because South Korean churches provide tailored worship services and financial aid to North Korean refugees, women might receive emotional comfort from church-based ties whom they can trust and receive help from, whereas men might become distressed about being financially dependent on others, which contradicts cultural expectations of a man's traditional role. Our findings have implications for mental health practitioners serving vulnerable populations, and highlight the importance of understanding the cultural context of social networks and gender in suicide research.

More ties the merrier? Different social ties and firm innovation performance

Inter-organizational relationships, viewed as a form of social tie, have been examined as a key source of firm innovation. While scholars have emphasized the importance of social ties, much less is known about the joint relationships among different types of ties. In this study, we first examine the individual effects of business, university, and government ties on firm innovation performance, and then, we analyze the joint effects of ties. We argue that in addition to direct impacts, government ties strengthen the positive effects of business and university ties on innovation. Our arguments draw empirical evidence from a recent sample of Chinese firms. Our research contributes to the literature by providing an in-depth understanding of the implications of the innovation of social ties.

Abstract C29: Social networks at diagnosis and recurrence, breast cancer-specific mortality, and overall mortality in white and non-white women in the Pathways Study

Abstract Background: Women with larger social networks generally have better breast cancer survival. However, previous work has been conducted predominantly in white women. Therefore, we evaluated associations of social networks, social support, and breast cancer-specific and overall mortality in a large, Northern California cohort of women with breast cancer, evaluating whether associations differed in white and non-white women. Methods: This study included 4,505 women from the Pathways Study, a prospective cohort study examining predictors of outcomes in women diagnosed from 2006-2013 with stages I-IV breast cancer in Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Participants responded to questions on social ties (marital/intimate partner, close friends and relatives, community and religious participation) and to the Medical Outcomes Study social support survey approximately two months following diagnosis. We used proportional hazards regression to evaluate associations between social networks, social support and recurrence, breast cancer-specific mortality, and overall mortality. We further stratified by white vs. non-white race since the number of outcomes were too small in specific non-white racial/ethnic groups, which included African-American (AA), Asian/Pacific Islander (API), and Hispanic women. We then evaluated evidence of effect modification by this variable. Results: The cohort included 2,894 white and 1,611 non-white women. In multivariable-adjusted analyses of the full cohort, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, disease severity, treatment, and presence of comorbidity, women with small social networks had higher breast cancer-specific and overall mortality. However, associations differed substantially by race/ethnicity (p-value, test for interaction=0.02 for recurrence, p=0.07 for breast-cancer specific mortality, and p<0.001 for overall mortality). In white women, socially isolated women had higher breast cancer-specific (hazard ratio (HR)=2.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.30-4.49, p-trend<0.001) and overall (HR=2.98, 95% CI: 1.94-4.58) mortality compared with those who were socially integrated. These associations were driven by the strong associations seen in white women with hormone-receptor positive cancer. Associations with recurrence were nonsignificant. By contrast, in non-white women, those who were moderately integrated had a significantly lower risk of recurrence (HR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.47-0.98) than those who were socially integrated. Associations with breast cancer-specific and overall mortality were nonsignificant but similar qualitatively. In additional exploration, larger social networks appeared beneficial in white and AA women but we noted possible direct associations between social network size and outcomes in API and Hispanic women. Though each of the different types of ties contributed to associations in white women, a larger number of close friends and relatives was related to worse outcomes in the non-white women in this sample. Social support was not significantly related to outcomes in either white or non-white women. Conclusions: In white women, larger social networks were related to better survival, whereas among non-white women, those with moderate-sized networks had the lowest risks of recurrence and breast cancer-specific mortality. The influence of social networks on breast cancer outcomes may differ by race/ethnicity. Citation Format: Candyce Kroenke, Scarlett Lin Gomez, Marilyn Kwan, Lawrence Kushi. Social networks at diagnosis and recurrence, breast cancer-specific mortality, and overall mortality in white and non-white women in the Pathways Study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr C29.

The Importance of External Contacts in Job Performance: A Study in Healthcare Organizations Using Social Network Analysis.

There is evidence that relations between physicians and nurses within healthcare institutions might be shaped by informal aspects of such relations and by links to people external to the organization, with an impact on work performance. Social network analysis is underutilized in exploring such associations. The paper aims to describe physicians’ and nurses’ relationships outside their clinical units and to explore what kind of ties are related to job performance. A network analysis was performed on cross-sectional data. The study population consisted of 196 healthcare employees working in a public hospital and a primary healthcare centre in Spain. Relational data were analysed using the UCINET software package. Measures included: (i) sample characteristics; (ii) social network variables; and (iii) team performance ratings. Descriptive statistics (means, medians, percentages) were used to characterize staff and performance ratings. A correlational analysis was conducted to examine the strength of relationships between four different types of ties. Our findings suggest that external ties only contribute to improving the performance of physicians at both the individual and team level. They are focused on the decision-making process about the therapeutic plan and, therefore, might need to seek advice outside the workplace. In contrast, external ties are not relevant for the work performance of nurses, as they need to find solutions to immediate problems in a short period of time, having strong ties in the workplace. Social network analysis can illuminate relations within healthcare organizations and inform the development of innovative interventions.

Diffusion of internationalization in business group networks: evidence from India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to suggest that business group (BG) networks act as conduits for diffusion of information and resources pertaining to internationalization. It considers three types of BG networks arising from three different types of ties- director interlock, direct equity, and indirect equity. In particular, it examines the effects of cohesiveness of these BG networks on the diffusion of internationalization within a BG.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on social network perspective, it is hypothesized that, for each type of network, cohesiveness enhances within-BG similarity of the extent of internationalization. An empirical investigation is conducted on a sample of 55 Indian BGs for the period 2009-2013.FindingsResults support all the three hypotheses, suggesting that higher level of cohesiveness leads to higher level of within-BG similarity of the extent of internationalization, for all three network types.Originality/valueFindings of this study contribute to the BG literature by examining the effects of BG network cohesiveness on the diffusion of internationalization within a BG, for three types of BG networks.

The built environment, spatial scale, and social networks: Do land uses matter for personal network structure?

In this study, we examine how different features of the built environment—density, diversity of land uses, and design—have consequences for personal networks. We also consider whether different features of the built environment have consequences for the spatial location of persons to whom one is tied by considering their distribution in local area, broader city region, and a more macro spatial scale. We test these ideas with a large sample of the Western United States for three different types of ties. Our findings suggest that the built environment is crucial for personal network structure, both in the number of social ties and where they are located.

Relationship Between Ties With Adult Children and Life Satisfaction Among the Middle-Aged, the Young-Old, and the Oldest-Old Korean Adults.

One of the important determinants of well-being among aging parents is their relationship with adult children. Using the two waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study examined how different types of ties with adult children affect the life satisfaction of the Korean middle-aged, the young-old, and the oldest-old adults. Multigroup analysis was used to see if the effects of ties with adult children differ by the three age-groups. The results showed that frequency of contact had positive effect on life satisfaction for all of the age-groups. However, coresidence with children had a negative effect for the middle-aged, but a positive effect for the oldest-old. Finally, exchanges of support with adult children had significant effects only for the young-old. These results show that the importance of different types of ties with children change according to aging parents' life stages.

Do Political Connections Buffer Firms from or Bind Firms to the Government? A Study of Corporate Charitable Donations of Chinese Firms

Do political connections buffer firms from or bind firms to the government? To examine this theoretical puzzle, we distinguish two types of managerial political connections, ascribed and achieved, and theorize that these different types of ties either buffer firms from or bind firms to government demands. Furthermore, we propose that these effects are contingent on both industrial and regional institutional conditions. We test our framework with a unique panel data set of privately controlled listed firms’ charitable donations in China from 2001 to 2012. We find that firms whose executives have ascribed bureaucratic connections are more likely to use their connections as a buffer from governmental donation pressure, particularly in competitive industries and less market-oriented regions, whereas in state-monopolized industries this buffering effect is reduced. In contrast, achieved political connections are more likely to serve a binding function that facilitates donation, particularly in state-monopolized industries and more market-oriented regions, but in less market-oriented regions, they buffer firms from the pressure to donate. Our research contributes to the literatures on the effects of political connections, the institutional contingencies of political connections, and the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate political activities (CPA).

‘Absolutely free’? The role of relational work in sustaining artistic innovation

Drawing on the relational perspective of artistic innovation, which suggests that different types of ties (weak vs. strong) lead to different outcomes in terms of the development and implementation of new artistic ideas, this study uses an in-depth case study of Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti to explore the role of the relational work artists deploy to develop and implement their artwork. We investigate how artists engage in specific relational actions (broadening, bonding, embedding and dis-embedding) with producing organizations, and how these actions lead to innovation over time. The findings suggest that artistic innovation moves through four stages – proximal innovation, fuzzy innovation, established innovation and maintained innovation – sustained by an artist’s oscillation between a network characterized by strong ties with few organizations and a network characterized by weak ties with many organizations, depending on the artist’s quests for inclusion and differentiation. In this process, a long-lasting relationship between the artist and a specific organization may ‘pivot’ artistic innovation.