Abstract
We model knowledge diffusion in a population of agents situated on a network, interacting only over direct ties. Some agents are by nature traders, others are by nature “givers”: traders demand a quid pro quo for information transfer; givers do not. We are interested in efficiency of diffusion and explore the interplay between the structure of the population (proportion of traders), the network structure (clustering, path length and degree distribution), and the scarcity of knowledge. We find that at the global level, trading (as opposed to giving) reduces efficiency. At the individual level, highly connected agents do well when knowledge is scarce, agents in clustered neighbourhoods do well when it is abundant. The latter finding is connected to the debate on structural holes and social capital.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Ahuja G (2000) Collaboration networks, structural holes and innovation: a longitudinal study. Adm Sci Q 45:425–455
Allen R (1983) Collective invention. J Econ Behav Org 4:1–24
Barabási A, Albert R (1999) Emergence of scaling in random networks. Science 286:509–512
Baum JAC, Shipilov AV, Rowley TJ (2003) Where do small worlds come from? Ind Corp Change 12:697–725
Burt RS (1992) Structural holes: the social structure of competition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Cowan R, Jonard N (2003) The dynamics of collective invention. J Econ Behav Org 52:513–532
Cowan R, Jonard N (2004) Network structure and the diffusion of knowledge. J Econ Dyn Control 28:1557–1575
Dyer JH, Nobeoka K (2000) Creating and managing a high performance knowledge sharing network: the Toyota case. Strateg Manage J 21:345–367
Granstrand O, Sjolander S (1990) Managing innovation in multi-technology corporations. Res Policy 19:35–60
Gulati R, Gargiulo M (1999) Where do inter-organizational networks come from? Am J Sociol 104:1439–1493
Lamoureaux NR (1999) Accounting for capitalism in early american history: farmers, merchants, manufacturers, and their economic worlds. Technical report, UCLA, 1999. Available at http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/activities/usccpapers/lamoreaux.html
McGaw JA (1987) Most wonderful machine: mechanization and social change in Berkshire paper making. 1801-1885. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1987)
Podolny JM (1993) A status-based model of market competition. Am J Sociol 98:829–872
Powell WW (1990) Neither markets nor hierarchies: network forms of organization. In: Shaw BM, Cummings LL (eds) Research in organizational behavior, vol 12, pp 395–336
Powell WW, Koput KW, Smith-Doerr L (1996) Inter-organizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: networks of learning in biotechnology. Adm Sci Q 41:116–145
Powell WW, White DR, Koput KW, Owen-Smith J (2005) Network dynamics and field evolution: the growth of inter-organizational collaboration in the life sciences. Am J Sociol 110:1132–1205
Rowley T, Behrens D, Krachhardt D (2000) Redundant governance structures: an analysis of structural and relational embeddedness in the steel and semiconductor industries. Strateg Manage J 21:369–386
von Hippel E (1987) Cooperation between rivals: informal know-how trading. Res Policy 16:291–302
Walker G, Kogut B, Shan W (1997) Social capital, structural holes and the formation of an industry network. Org Sci 8:108–125
Watts D, Strogatz S (1998) Collective dynamics of small-world networks. Nature 393:440–442
Werker C, Brenner T (2004) Empirical calibration of simulation models. Max Planck Institute, Jena; Papers on Economics and Evolution number 2004-10
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0 ), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
About this article
Cite this article
Cowan, R., Jonard, N. Structural holes, innovation and the distribution of ideas. J Econ Interac Coord 2, 93–110 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11403-007-0024-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11403-007-0024-0