Publications (new)
2022
van Kuppevelt, D. E.; Bakhshi, R.; Heemskerk, E. M.; Takes, F. W.
Community membership consistency applied to corporate board interlock networks Journal Article
In: Journal of Computational Social Science, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 841–860, 2022, ISSN: 2432-2725.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Board interlocks, Community detection, Interlocking directorates, Modularity, Network analysis
@article{kuppevelt_community_2022,
title = {Community membership consistency applied to corporate board interlock networks},
author = {D. E. van Kuppevelt and R. Bakhshi and E. M. Heemskerk and F. W. Takes},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-021-00145-5},
doi = {10.1007/s42001-021-00145-5},
issn = {2432-2725},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-05-01},
urldate = {2024-04-08},
journal = {Journal of Computational Social Science},
volume = {5},
number = {1},
pages = {841–860},
abstract = {Community detection is a well-established method for studying the meso-scale structure of social networks. Applying a community detection algorithm results in a division of a network into communities that is often used to inspect and reason about community membership of specific nodes. This micro-level interpretation step of community structure is a crucial step in typical social science research. However, the methodological caveat in this step is that virtually all modern community detection methods are non-deterministic and based on randomization and approximated results. This needs to be explicitly taken into consideration when reasoning about community membership of individual nodes. To do so, we propose a metric of community membership consistency, that provides node-level insights in how reliable the placement of that node into a community really is. In addition, it enables us to distinguish the community core members of a community. The usefulness of the proposed metrics is demonstrated on corporate board interlock networks, in which weighted links represent shared senior level directors between firms. Results suggest that the community structure of global business groups is centered around persistent communities consisting of core countries tied by geographical and cultural proximity. In addition, we identify fringe countries that appear to associate with a number of different global business communities.},
keywords = {Board interlocks, Community detection, Interlocking directorates, Modularity, Network analysis},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Community detection is a well-established method for studying the meso-scale structure of social networks. Applying a community detection algorithm results in a division of a network into communities that is often used to inspect and reason about community membership of specific nodes. This micro-level interpretation step of community structure is a crucial step in typical social science research. However, the methodological caveat in this step is that virtually all modern community detection methods are non-deterministic and based on randomization and approximated results. This needs to be explicitly taken into consideration when reasoning about community membership of individual nodes. To do so, we propose a metric of community membership consistency, that provides node-level insights in how reliable the placement of that node into a community really is. In addition, it enables us to distinguish the community core members of a community. The usefulness of the proposed metrics is demonstrated on corporate board interlock networks, in which weighted links represent shared senior level directors between firms. Results suggest that the community structure of global business groups is centered around persistent communities consisting of core countries tied by geographical and cultural proximity. In addition, we identify fringe countries that appear to associate with a number of different global business communities.
2020
Valeeva, D.; Heemskerk, E. M.; Takes, F. W.
The duality of firms and directors in board interlock networks: A relational event modeling approach Journal Article
In: Social Networks, vol. 62, pp. 68–79, 2020, ISSN: 0378-8733.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Corporate networks, Elites, Interlocking directorates, Relational event modeling
@article{valeeva_duality_2020,
title = {The duality of firms and directors in board interlock networks: A relational event modeling approach},
author = {D. Valeeva and E. M. Heemskerk and F. W. Takes},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378873320300186},
doi = {10.1016/j.socnet.2020.02.009},
issn = {0378-8733},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-07-01},
urldate = {2024-04-08},
journal = {Social Networks},
volume = {62},
pages = {68–79},
abstract = {The long tradition of scholarly work on corporate interlocks has left us with competing theoretical frameworks on the causes of interlock networks. Board interlocks are studied either as means to overcome the resource dependence of corporations or as a group cohesion mechanism of business elites. This contrast is due to an empirical divide of the literature where either the firms or the individuals are considered as decision-making bodies. In systematically ignoring the agency of the other group of actors, these literatures suffer from both theoretical and empirical biases in understanding the drivers of new interlocks. In this paper, we employ a relational event modeling technique that allows us to overcome this problem. The analysis of board appointments in Denmark demonstrates how in fact both personal and corporate considerations simultaneously drive the evolution of the corporate networks. The study of the duality of actors is essential for understanding the causes and consequences of corporate networks across time and space.},
keywords = {Corporate networks, Elites, Interlocking directorates, Relational event modeling},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The long tradition of scholarly work on corporate interlocks has left us with competing theoretical frameworks on the causes of interlock networks. Board interlocks are studied either as means to overcome the resource dependence of corporations or as a group cohesion mechanism of business elites. This contrast is due to an empirical divide of the literature where either the firms or the individuals are considered as decision-making bodies. In systematically ignoring the agency of the other group of actors, these literatures suffer from both theoretical and empirical biases in understanding the drivers of new interlocks. In this paper, we employ a relational event modeling technique that allows us to overcome this problem. The analysis of board appointments in Denmark demonstrates how in fact both personal and corporate considerations simultaneously drive the evolution of the corporate networks. The study of the duality of actors is essential for understanding the causes and consequences of corporate networks across time and space.