2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Comparative Study of Emerging Forms of Interorganization Relationships Among Japan, China, USA, and Europe
| Project/Area Number |
15330075
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Business administration
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| Research Institution | Hitotsubashi University |
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Principal Investigator |
NISHIGUCHI Toshihiro Hitotsubashi University, Institute of Innovation Research, Professor of Management, イノベーション研究センター, 教授 (20270928)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TSUJITA Motoko Shizuoka Sangyo University, Department of Management, Lecturer, 経営学部, 専任講師 (40350920)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | Interorganization Relationship / Network / Industrial District / Outsourcing / Social System / Industry-University-Government Cooperation / Chinese Private Enterprise / Japan : China : USA : Europe |
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| Research Abstract |
Over the past several years, investigations into small worlds and the small world phenomenon have reinvigorated the study of social networks and network theory more generally. As per Watts, who introduced the so-called "small-world network model", a small world is a large, connected, sparse, decentralized network which has both a low characteristic path length and a high degree of clustering. In considering potential paths from highly clustered networks to small worlds, Watts notes that the addition of a tiny fraction of shortcuts can collapse path length without significantly reducing a network's clustering. In so doing, he demonstrates how significant changes in global structure can result from modest changes in local structure, and injects a note of caution into studies of structure.
Our research has aimed to inquire into the correlation between the prosperity of an enterprise or a region and the structure of its networks, drawing on a small world network perspective. As a real world
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case of small world networks, we have analyzed transnational networks and the transformation of Wenzhou, China. Wenzhou used to be one of the poorest regions in China. Wenzhou people, however, enjoy immense prosperity at present. This appears to be because they have made use of both tightly knit regular ties (kinship & province-based ties) and a small number of long-range paths. They moved out of their impoverished hometown on purpose to be better off, especially in the 1980s and the 1990s. As a result, Wenzhou people have established transnational networks based on kinship and friendship. Interestingly, they still continue to be rewired in search of new opportunities. Wenzhou entrepreneurs have a quick movers' advantage by rapid, non-redundant information transmission through small world networks. They exhibit remarkable resilience to ever changing environments. We have come to the conclusion that it must be important to strike a balance between local and long-range connections for prosperity. A network topology is likely to have a great impact on performance of actors who are within it. After all, a network topology should matter. Less
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