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Article
Revisiting the small-world phenomenon: Efficiency variation and classification of small-world networks
Organizational Research Methods
  • Tore OPSAHL
  • Antoine VERNET, Imperial College London
  • Tufool ALNUAIMI, Imperial College London
  • Gerard GEORGE, Singapore Management University
Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
1-2017
Abstract

Research has explored how embeddedness in small-world networks influences individual and firm outcomes. We show that there remains significant heterogeneity among networks classified as small-world networks. We develop measures of the efficiency of a network, which allow us to refine predictions associated with small-world networks. A network is classified as a small-world network if it exhibits a distance between nodes that is comparable to the distance found in random networks of similar sizeswith ties randomly allocated among nodesin addition to containing dense clusters. To assess how efficient a network is, there are two questions worth asking: (a) What is a compelling random network for baseline levels of distance and clustering? and (b) How proximal should an observed value be to the baseline to be deemed comparable? Our framework tests properties of networks, using simulation, to further classify small-world networks according to their efficiency. Our results suggest that small-world networks exhibit significant variation in efficiency. We explore implications for the field of management and organization.

Keywords
  • computational modeling,
  • longitudinal data analysis,
  • quantitative research,
  • sampling,
  • research design
Identifier
10.1177/1094428116675032
Publisher
SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428116675032
Citation Information
Tore OPSAHL, Antoine VERNET, Tufool ALNUAIMI and Gerard GEORGE. "Revisiting the small-world phenomenon: Efficiency variation and classification of small-world networks" Organizational Research Methods Vol. 20 Iss. 1 (2017) p. 149 - 173 ISSN: 1094-4281
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gerard-george/83/