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Elucidating strategic network dynamics through computational modeling

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Abstract

In this study we describe a comprehensive computational model of network dynamics (COM-NeD) and demonstrate how it may help us better understand and theorize the dynamics of strategic networks. Specifically, we model a population of firms characterized by idiosyncratic resource needs and productive capacities, while having to respond to the demands of external events by establishing ties and receiving needed resources from other firms. Through COM-NeD we investigate a set of established theoretical perspectives that represent distinct strategies for seeking and establishing interfirm ties. Rigorous computational experiments demonstrate the expected behavior of such a system under a broad range of assumptions. The results shed light on the complexity of strategic network dynamics, demonstrating novel interactions of firms’ internal resource capacity, relational search approaches, and external resource growth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, 75083, USA

    Zhiang (John) Lin & J. Richard Harrison

  2. Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, 704 Uris Hall, 3022 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    James A. Kitts

  3. Department of Management, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Haibin Yang

Authors
  1. Zhiang (John) Lin
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  2. James A. Kitts
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  3. Haibin Yang
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  4. J. Richard Harrison
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhiang (John) Lin.

Additional information

We thank Steven Phelan and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. This research is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant No. 0433086.

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Lin, Z.(., Kitts, J.A., Yang, H. et al. Elucidating strategic network dynamics through computational modeling. Comput Math Organiz Theor 14, 175–208 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10588-008-9026-2

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