Social dilemmas in an online social network: the structure and evolution of cooperation

We investigate two paradigms for studying the evolution of cooperation--Prisoner's Dilemma and Snowdrift game in an online friendship network obtained from a social networking site. We demonstrate that such social network has small-world property and degree distribution has a power-law tail. Besides, it has hierarchical organizations and exhibits disassortative mixing pattern. We study the evolutionary version of the two types of games on it. It is found that enhancement and sustainment of cooperative behaviors are attributable to the underlying network topological organization. It is also shown that cooperators can survive when confronted with the invasion of defectors throughout the entire ranges of parameters of both games. The evolution of cooperation on empirical networks is influenced by various network effects in a combined manner, compared with that on model networks. Our results can help understand the cooperative behaviors in human groups and society.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Varieties of System Transformations and Their Structural Background Based on the IPS Model

This study is the theoretical chapter of a planned book. This book, aims to contribute to the theoretical foundations of similarities and differences in the transformation of party-state systems. Analytical framework of system transformation is based on the extension of the Interactive Party State model (Csan di, 2006) where specifics of the structure and operation of party-state systems and structural background of their disparities were described and analyzed. Self-similarities and disparities of transformation and path-dependency of the variety of systemic outcomes are assigned to structural characteristics of power distribution of party-state systems interpreted as networks. The empirical part of the book uses the Chinese case to test this theory, measuring the dynamics of system transformation, the consequences of short- and long-term external adaptation pressures on the system transformation and long-term consequences of the short-term reactions to these pressures and their spatial disparities. This research was supported by the National Research Foundation in Hungary.system transformation, economic transformation political transformation, sequence of transformation, disparities of transformation, varieties of system outcomes, party-state network

The Development of Network Relations of MNC Subsidiaries: How Internal MNC and External (Local) Relations Evolve

Managing relations is a complex task for internationalizing firms and their subsidiaries: MNC subsidiaries are not only part of the MNC network but they also develop relations with network actors in their local environment.This paper investigates conceptually how MNC subsidiaries established through generic expansion build relations within the MNC and with external market and non-market actors as they evolve through stages of start-up, growth and maturity.The paper develops propositions, grounded in institutional theory, resource dependency theory and network approaches, on the changing strength and importance of a subsidiary's relations depending on its dependence or interdependence in these relations, with five groups of actors (MNC headquarters, other subsidiaries within the MNC, local business actors, local government and non-government organizations).The paper ends with drawing directions for future work that will enhance understanding of the dynamics of relationship management in MNC subsidiaries.multinational companies;MNC management;HQ-subsidiary relations;networks;institutional theory

Exploring Evolutionary Economic Geographies

Evolutionary approaches in economics have gathered increasing support over the last 25 years. Despite an impressive body of literature, economists are still far from formulating a coherent research paradigm. The multitude of approaches in evolutionary economics poses problems for the development of an evolutionary economic geography. For the most part, evolutionary economic geography imports selective concepts from evolutionary biology and economics and applies those concepts to specific problems within economic geography. We discuss a number of problems with this approach and suggest that a more powerful and appealing alternative requires the development of theoretically consistent models of evolutionary processes. This paper outlines the contours of an evolutionary model of economic dynamics where economic agents are located in different geographical spaces. We seek to show how competition between those agents, based on the core evolutionary principles of variety, selection and retention, may produce distinct economic regions sharing properties that differentiate them from competitors elsewhere. These arguments are extended to illustrate how the emergent properties of economic agents and places co-evolve and lead to different trajectories of economic development over space.evolutionary economics, economic geography, Generalized Darwinism, biological metaphors, self-organization

Herbert Simon's heritage

One year after Herbert Simon's death, this paper tries to highlight the most relevant elements for economists in his scientific heritage.

Industrial districts as organizational environments: resources, networks and structures

The paper combines economic and sociological perspectives on organizations in order to gain a better understanding of the forces shaping the structures of industrial districts (IDs) and the organizations of which they are constituted. To effect the combination , the resource based view (RBV) and resource dependency theory are combined to explain the evolution of different industry structures. The paper thus extends work by Toms and Filatotchev by spatializing consideration of resource distribution and resource dependence. The paper has important implications for conventional interpretations in the fields of business and organizational history and for the main areas of theory hitherto considered separately, particularly the Chandlerian model of corporate hierarchy as contrasted with the alternative of clusters of small firms coordinated by networks

The Evolutionary Model of Entrepreneurial Firms' Dependence on Networks: Going beyond the start-up stage

In this paper, we propose a dynamic model of entrepreneurial firms’ dependence on networks. First we argue that five characteristics of entrepreneurial firms result in their high dependence on networks; these five characteristics include entrepreneurial orientation, central role of the entrepreneur, resource constraints, pursuit of flexibility, and niche market focus. We then examine how entrepreneurial firms’ growth is accompanied by the evolution of these five characteristics leading to a shift in the mode through which entrepreneurial firms construct and deploy their networks. In particular, we examine the composition and the stability of entrepreneurial firms’ networks. This paper contributes to building a more integrative theory of entrepreneurship.

Mechanisms in ecology

New mechanistic philosophy has not examined explanations in ecology although they are based extensively on describing mechanisms responsible for phenomena under scrutiny. This chapter uses the example of research on the shrub Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle) to scrutinize individual-level mechanisms that are generally accepted and used in ecology and confronts them with the minimal account of mechanisms. Individual-level mechanisms are for a phenomenon, are hierarchical, and absent entities play a role in their functioning. They are distinguished by the role played by properties in determining activities and organization. The chapter also considers the experimental methods for discovery of individual-level mechanisms, the possibility of group-level mechanisms in ecology, and suggests further research problems