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The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolving mechanism of urban roadway network. With the consideration of self-organization effect and planning effect during evolution, the authors try to demonstrate the impact of preferential attachment, module scale and module structure on the evolving network model.

The roadway network is built in the form of abstract network by dual approach. By using the evolving model of modular growth, the authors analyze the effects and mechanism of the evolving process. Then through numerical analysis, the impact of evolving effects on urban roadway network topology structure is discussed from the aspects of preferential attachment, module scale and module structure.

The module structure property, small-world property and scale-free property of roadway network can be affected with various degrees by the change of preferential attachment and module scale. However, the impact of module structure on network properties is small, which can be ignored. Therefore, in practice, the self-organization effect and planning effect of evolving network can be reached by changing the preferential attachment and module scale, so as to generate the network structure with specific properties.

Some local events, such as road extensions, road demolition and intersection rebuilding, exist during the evolving process under real-world situation. While those cases have not been considered in preferential attachment. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to take these factors into consideration in further research.

The paper has implications for practice in urban transportation planning and roadway constructions, which can help to guide the planning of urban roadway and to adjust or restore partial network when broken down according to the evolving law.

The impact of preferential attachment, module scale and module structure on the evolving network model is measured. And the relationship between different network properties can be used to build some patterns of network. From this point of view, the development of urban roadway network can be predicted and intervened.

For current works, agents create social network by drawing on the knowledge of their immediate environment, and they use network for cooperating with one another and for promoting their own economic and social interests. The purpose of this paper is to aid in re-enchanting network study, and present network as spontaneous social construction.

The paper draws on Hayek's spontaneous order. For Hayek, agents have access to a wide knowledge about social system, and use this knowledge to spontaneously coordinate with each other in the pursuit of their self-interests.

The authors develop the idea by presenting and performing an analogy of Hayek's spontaneous order to emergent structures. The result of this analogy is a conception of network dynamics wherein the spontaneous social construction of network structures is achieved by agents who have knowledge of the interaction rules that guide structures production, and who, by drawing on this knowledge, are able to influence the emergence of network structures. Agents thus spontaneously contribute to the emergence of a network, to its growth, and its decline.

This new conception of network focusses on the processes of the social construction of network structures. It provides a better account of network change and development than current works, and because it stresses the spontaneous, fragile and ephemeral character of network, it can prove useful for the re-enchantment of network studies.

This paper aims to explore collective cognitive structures in business networks by analyzing the coherency of network pictures in a service development network.

The authors use the network pictures construct as a tool to analyze collective cognitive structures in a service development network. The studied case and unit of analysis is a focal network developing a consumer mobile TV service.

Based on the empirical evidence, the authors found that individuals’ cognitive structures vary extensively in the studied focal network. In addition, collective cognitive structures in intra- and inter-organizational settings differ, and thus should be distinguished.

The research findings are based on a single case study. This study is one of the first attempts to apply network pictures as a research device in industrial marketing. The concept of network conception is put forward, distinguishing intra- and inter-organizational levels of collective cognition.

The employed conceptual tool is proposed for application also when forming a business network, where it is important to make all actors’ (i.e. persons and companies) perspectives on the emerging focal business network visible.

To study the focal network-level collective cognitive structures further, the authors propose the concept of network conception to represent the phenomenon. The present study contributes to the research on collective cognitive structures in industrial marketing by extending understanding on individual- and organizational-level cognitions to a focal network-level collective cognition.

This paper aims to propose an empirically grounded governance framework based on complex adaptive systems (CAS) principles to facilitate formation of well-connected regional supply chains that foster economic development, adaptability and resilience of mining regions.

This study is an exploratory case study of the South Australian (SA) mining industry that includes 38 semi-structured interviews with the key stakeholders and structural analysis of the regional supply network (RSN).

Findings demonstrate the applicability of the CAS framework as a structured approach to the governance of the mining industry regional supply chains. In particular, the findings exemplify the relationship between RSN governance, its structure and interconnectivity and their combined impact on the adaptability and resilience of mining regions.

The data set analysed in the current study is static. Longitudinal data would permit a deeper insight into the evolution of the RSN structure and connectivity. The validity of the proposed framework could be further strengthened by being applied to other industrial domains and geographical contexts.

The proposed framework offers a novel insight for regional policy-makers striving to create an environment that facilitates the formation of well-integrated regional supply chains in mining regions through more focussed policy and strategies.

The proposed framework is one of the first attempts to offer a holistic structured approach to governance of the regional supply chains based on CAS principles. With the current transformative changes in the global mining industry, policy-makers and supply chain practitioners have an urgent need to embrace CAS and network paradigms to remain competitive in the twenty-first century.

The governance of information technology outsourcing (ITO) has been identified as an essential determinant for ITO success. Prior studies have shed light on effective governance structures in different organizational contexts. This study aims to advance this prior knowledge by exploring how interpersonal networks, as an important aspect of such context, reflect and influence ITO governance.

A single case study was conducted from a vendor’s perspective in an ITO dyad. Social network analysis was leveraged to reveal the interpersonal networks, with whole-network analysis on 24 team members in an ITO vendor company. In addition, open-ended interviews with six selected team members were utilized to identify the perceived governance structure.

The findings of this study suggest certain features of interpersonal networks, i.e. network density and cross-network comparison, can reflect governance structure in multiple aspects. Meanwhile, the authors also argue that interpersonal networks can influence the form of governance structure.

As a single case study, the context of the research site cannot be ignored in the inference of findings. To increase the confidence for further generalization, future empirical studies are needed especially in contrasting sites, such as ITO relations based on network governance.

This study associates intra-organizational characteristics of the vendor to the inter-organizational governance structure of the ITO relationship. It also provides an innovative methodology for both researchers and practitioners to assess ITO governance structure.

The sharing of knowledge between partners in collaborative relationships is widely accepted to be fundamental to supporting strategic decision making, particularly in relation to innovation management and business sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how the structure of collaborative relationships in business networks may determine successful knowledge sharing and thus improve decision making and business performance.

Expert interviews were conducted with participants operating in networks and business ecosystem in four different sectors in Italy and Germany, exploring the process of knowledge sharing, organisational learning and decision making within collaborative relationships. A qualitative textual analysis was used to analyse the experts’ responses.

The research found that an organisation’s network position and the network structure, as well as the governance and richness of the business ecosystem in which it operates, influence its ability to share knowledge, to innovate and therefore to compete sustainably.

The research demonstrates that innovative strategic decision making, based on access to appropriate knowledge, occurs within the context of social and business network relations operating within a broader more diverse business ecosystem. Closer dyadic or small working group ties best facilitate trust and sharing of the most valuable knowledge. Appropriate participation in and management of such structures is therefore essential to support knowledge-based decision making, and critical to sustained competitive advantage.

The research focusses on how interfirm relationships are established and maintained, how firms establish trust and facilitate knowledge sharing forming the basis of organisational learning.

The purpose of this paper is to propose that there is not one ideal network structure of knowledge flow, but many, and that the network structures of knowledge flows between employees in teams are task‐related.

Ideal knowledge network structures in teams are examined on the basis of the literature. A case study of a well‐established team, presented with social network analysis methods, reveals the different structures of knowledge flow.

According to the case study, it is shown that the network structures of knowledge flow are different in different tasks. It is suggested on the basis of theory that the ideal knowledge network structures are hierarchical for routine tasks, core‐peripheral for development tasks and ego‐centric for idea generation tasks.

The research design presented in this paper should be applied to more cases to ascertain its validity.

This paper provides means for understanding, assessing and managing knowledge networks in teams.

Flows of knowledge have been found to be an important area in network research. This paper shows how they are structured according to the nature of the tasks.

Drawing on a network perspective on enterprise agility, the purpose of this paper is to explore whether firms with superior network structure not only may be better able to generate direct effect on firm performance, but whether a superior network structure may also help firms to create better firm agility and thus enhance their performance.

The study employed a survey method and data were collected from 250 companies in Taiwan's glass industry. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) technology, it specified the measurement properties of survey instrument such as reliabilities and validities and then identified causal relation among latent constructs to examine causal effects of hypotheses testing.

The results show that a firm's agility capability and its network structure are a critical competitive strategy source of firm performance. Moreover, network structure also partially mediates the impact of enterprise agility on firm performance.

Because the data were collected from a single industry and firm performance is evaluated by subjective managerial assessments, further research may be necessary by using the data involving multiple industries with objective performance indices for more meaningful and generalized results.

The findings confirm the importance of enterprise agility for contemporary firms in today's dynamic business environment. By reinforcing enterprise agility, firms could react better to unpredictable changes. In addition, firms also are suggested to put more effort into developing and maintaining their network structures, both as repositories of external resources and as boosters of enterprise agility.

The paper provides evidence regarding the impact of enterprise agility and network structure on firm performance.

The complicated social relationship in Chinese culture requires human resource management (HRM) practitioners to be aware of the implications of social network. This paper aims to disclose the relevance between social network structure and employees’ performance.

An empirical research is exploited in this paper. Based on cluster sampling method, the authors collected 336 employees’ socio-demographic characteristic data and social network data by means of face-to-face interviews using the structured questionnaire. In addition, employees’ performance data were obtained from the financial department, to support subsequent correlation analysis, grey relational analysis and OLS regression analysis.

The informal network, rather than the formal network, was observed to contribute more toward employees’ individual performance. We further found that structure centrality has a distinct advantage in delineating an individual’s power and status in the network, success over degree centrality, thus predicting individual performance.

For the management practice of an organization, the present study’s empirical results demonstrate that informal relations have a more decisive influence on individual performance than formal relations. This research also found that the structure centrality, from the perspective of networks’ structure heterogeneity, is valuable in discovering crucial staff in social networks, especially those in informal network associations.

First, the relations between network structure and individual performance have been summarized. Second, the different influences between formal and informal networks on individual performance have been discussed. Third, a new index – structure centrality to recapitulate network structure for developing social network theory – introduced. Finally, this paper is an attempt to explore the associations between social network structure and employees’ performance from the perspective of the whole network.

This study aims to focus on living labs as a means of achieving radical innovation by discussing the differences in their network structure and its effect on the type of innovation outcome.

This research analyses 24 living labs in four countries using qualitative methods.

A specific network structure referred to as a distributed multiplex supports radical innovation in living labs, while distributed and centralized network structures support incremental innovations. Also, the results suggest that radical innovation depends on the driving actor and objectives in a living lab.

A bias on the perceived novelty of innovation may exist when analyzing data collected through interviews with a limited number of living lab participants compared to a large number of informants. This study proposes a two-dimensional framework based on the network structure to investigate innovation in living labs.

This paper offers a classification tool to identify, categorize and make sense of organizations’ participation in open innovation networks and in living labs.

The study provides evidence that, although the distributed multiplex network structure supports the emergence of radical innovations, the distributed and centralized network structures support incremental innovation. A combination of a provider- or utilizer-driven living lab and a distributed multiplex network structure, with a clearly defined and future-oriented strategic objective, offers good potential for radical innovation to occur.