A case study of a bio-science network : the Kansas City animal health and nutrition corridor
Abstract
The research combines network theory with aspects of social network analysis to identify and explicate the strong and weak ties in bioscience network. Data was gathered from personal interviews and a survey of 22 organizations to explore the economic interactions within a network of public, private and civic organizations engaged in commercializing animal health and nutrition products. The analysis shows that the patterns of relations follow a functional logic. That is, weak ties are more dominate in a network where access to knowledge and resources are important. These findings are consistent with previous network theory research from Mark Granovetter's strength of weak tie hypothesis that economic action is embedded in ongoing social ties.
Degree
Ph. D.
Thesis Department
Rights
OpenAccess.
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