Innovation in the Context of Networks, Hierarchies, and Cohesion

Abstract

This chapter attempts to bridge two different worlds, that of substantivesocial science theory and that of formal mathematical theory. Ittherefore has to be read and understood from both these perspectivessimultaneously. Substantively speaking, this chapter explores howdiverse, multi-level, sparsely (or densely) interconnected, complicated,and loosely (or tightly) integrated the structures and network processesinvolved in innovation may be. To study such intricate systems andprocesses, with very different forms and types and degrees of complexity,we need to reconsider and reconfigure the very basic concepts weuse. That is where formal theories come in. The other goal of thischapter is to further the integration of formal theories of networkdynamics with substantive theories of socio-historical dynamics andto outline how certain types of innovation play out within thesedynamics.