Intermediate Report on the Database Component of the Information Resource for the MTS and ACT projects
Abstract
Mark Granovetter has argued that social structure determines the flow of information in markets (1974) & the networks in which they are embedded (1973, 1985). Described is a critique of the SWT (acronym not identified) approach (Frenzen, J., & Nakamoto, Ki, 1993) on the grounds that it overlooks the ability of individuals (positioned at each node of a network) to exert discretion over the kinds of information transmitted to other members of the network. When individual propensity to transmit is incorporated into SWT theory, weak ties are shown to function as "draw bridges" rather than the fixed bridges Granovetter has imagined, which has interesting implications for the flow of information in markets. Here, a field test of this new approach is reported that employed a modified snowball sampling technique derived directly from the extension of SWT theory. The new sampling technique is delineated, results are examined, & implications for future research are discussed.
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