Knowledge and Networks

This book discusses a core question in many fields of the social sciences, namely how to create, share and adopt new knowledge. It creates an original space for conversation between two lines of research that have developed largely in parallel for a long time: social network theory and the geography of knowledge. This book considers that relational thinking has become increasingly important for scholars to capture societal outcomes by studying social relations and networks, whereas the role of place, space and spatial scales has been somewhat neglected outside an emergent geography of knowledge. The individual contributions help integrate network arguments of connectivity, geographical arguments of contiguity and contextuality into a more comprehensive understanding of the ways in which people and organizations are constrained by and make use of space and networks for learning and innovation. Experts in the fields of geography, sociology, economics, political science, psychology, management and organizational studies develop conceptual models and propose empirical research that illustrates the ways in which networks and geography play together in processes of innovation, learning, leadership, and power. This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Table of Contents:
Exploring the Interaction of Space and Networks in the Creation of Knowledge: An Introduction: Johannes Glückler, Emmanuel Lazega, and Ingmar Hammer.- I: The Significance of Knowledge About Networks: The Relational Dimension as a Bridging Principle Between Economic, Social, and Geographic Issues: Reversing the Instrumentality of the Social for the Economic: A Critical Agenda for 21st-Century Knowledge Networks: Nancy Ettlinger.- Interpersonal Networks in Foreign Assignments and Intercultural Learning Processes: Erika Spieß.- Family Networks for Learning and Knowledge Creation in Developing Regions: Pengfei Li.- Studying Networks Geographically: World Political Regionalization in the United Nations General Assembly (1985–2010): Laurent Beauguitte.- (Post)graduate Education Markets and the Formation of Mobile Transnational Economic Elites: Sarah Hall.- II: Relational Opportunity: Network Evolution and Its Impact on Individuals and Regions: Organized Mobility and Relational Turnover as Context for Social Mechanisms: A Dynamic Invariant at the Heart of Stability from Movement: Emmanuel Lazega.- Trajectory Types Across Network Positions: Jazz Evolution from 1930 to 1969: Charles Kirschbaum.- Topology and Evolution of Collaboration Networks: The Case of a Policy-anchored District: Laura Prota, Maria Prosperina Vitale, and Maria Rosaria D’Esposito.- Platforming for Path-Breaking? The Case of Regional Electromobility Initiatives in Germany: Jörg Sydow and Friedemann Koll.- Brokering Trust to Enhance Leadership: A Self-Monitoring Approach to Leadership Emergence: Martin Kilduff, Ajay Mehra, Dennis A. Gioia, and Stephen Borgatti.- III: Network Geographies of Learning: How Social Networks in Space Lead to Innovation: How Atypical Combinations of Scientific Ideas Are Related to Impact: The General Case and the Case of the Field of Geography: Satyam Mukherjee, Brian Uzzi, Ben Jones, and Michael Stringer.- Connectivity in Contiguity: Conventions and Taboos of Imitation in Colocated Networks: Johannes Glückler and Ingmar Hammer.- Are Gatekeepers Important for the Renewal of the Local Knowledge Base? Evidence from U.S. Cities: Stefano Breschi and Camilla Lenzi.- Learning Networks Among Swedish Municipalities: Is Sweden a Small World?: Christopher Ansell, Martin Lundin, and Per Ola Öberg.- The Coevolution of Innovative Ties, Proximity, and Competencies: Toward a Dynamic Approach to Innovation Cooperation: Uwe Cantner, Susanne Hinzmann, and Tina Wolf.- The Klaus Tschira Foundation.- Index.