Collective action asks a fundamental question in social science: How do sets of actorschoose courses of action and work together to achieve desired outcomes, often inopposition to other coalitions? Psychological and economic rationality explanations areincomplete in emphasizing the mental decision processes of individuals. Collectiveaction must be understood at the level analysis of interpersonal and interorganizationalrelations. Social network theories a...

Organizing for Collective Action investigates the political and economic behaviors of national associations, including trade associations, professional societies, labor unions, and public interest groups. It focuses upon the ways that these organizations acquire resources and allocate them to various collective actions, particularly for member services, public relations, and political action. This analysis is structured around three broad theoretical paradigms for collective action: (1) th...

David Knoke and Song Yang′s Social Network Analysis, Third Edition provides a concise introduction to the concepts and tools of social network analysis. The authors convey key material while at the same time minimizing technical complexities. The examples are simple: sets of 5 or 6 entities such as individuals, positions in a hierarchy, political offices, and nation-states, and the relations between them include friendship, communication, supervision, donations, and trade....

"We are in the midst of rapid change in how firms organize themselves and their work. There are numerous popular accounts of this evolution but few theoretically grounded and research based assessments. Into this gap steps David Knoke. Changing Organizations is an invaluable resource for all concerned with organizational restructuring and will be an essential reference and starting point for scholars and practitioners who want a serious account of what has occurred and what is likely to ha...

Social relations are crucial for understanding diverse economic actions and a network perspective is central to that explanation. Simple exchanges involving money, labor, and commodities combine into complexly connected systems. Economic networks span many levels of analysis, from persons (consumers, employees), to groups (households, workteams), organizations (corporations, interest groups), populations (industries, markets) and the rapidly expanding global economic system.David K...

Basic scientific research and technological development have had an enormous impact on innovation, economic growth, and social well-being. Yet science policy debates have long been dominated by advocates for particular scientific fields or missions. In the absence of a deeper understanding of the changing framework in which innovation occurs, policymakers cannot predict how best to make and manage investments to exploit our most promising and important opportunities.Since 2005, a s...

Networks are omnipresent in our natural and social world, and they are at the heart of politics. Relationships of many types drive political institutions, processes, and decision-making. Therefore, it is imperative for the study of politics to include network approaches. Already, these approaches have advanced our understanding of critical questions, such as: Why do people vote? How can people build problem-solving coalitions? How can governments and organizations foster innovations? How c...

Social Network Analysis: Methods and Examples prepares social science students to conduct their own social network analysis (SNA) by covering basic methodological tools along with illustrative examples from various fields. This innovative book takes a conceptual rather than a mathematical approach as it discusses the connection between what SNA methods have to offer and how those methods are used in research design, data collection, and analysis. Four substantive applicati...

The role that small- and medium-sized enterprises play in the economic development and growth of cities, regions and nations has been an increasing subject of debate and study for the last half century. This volume focuses on the opportunities and challenges that entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face in a world of global competition. The papers therein provide an overview of successful strategies that global entrepreneurs and SMEs have employed that have allowed...

The field of research known as academic global health is in the midst of a scientific debate that is questioning its epistemological foundations. This book contributes to that questioning. Through a series of essays that weave together personal narratives and conceptual reflections, it shows how as researchers in academic global health, we defer to a distant, powerful, foreign gaze, whose power shapes our pose and what we can see or say. Many of our accepted knowledge practices – how we ma...

Despite the swift spread of social network concepts and their applications and the rising use of network analysis in social science, there is no book that provides a thorough general introduction for the serious reader. Understanding Social Networks fills that gap by explaining the big ideas that underlie the social network phenomenon. Written for those interested in this fast moving area but who are not mathematically inclined, it covers fundamental concepts, then discusses netwo...

Prioritizing Academic Programs and ServicesREVISED AND UPDATEDIncreasing economic concerns make the new edition of this best-selling classic an invaluable resource for those who want and need to implement a proven step-by-step approach to reallocating resources in tough times. Thoroughly revised and updated, Prioritizing Academic Programs and Services includes new recommendations from the field, communication strategies for more su...