Elucidating Strategic Network Dynamics Through Computational Modeling
by Zhiang (John) Lin, James A. Kitts, Haibin Yang, and J. Richard Harrison
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.