Authors: Catherine Sutton-Brady; Michael Donnan
In previous research it was proposed that parallels existed between the concepts and ideasfound in the Science of Networks (SON) literature (Barabasi, 2002 Albert et al, 1999 Buchanan, 2002) and IMP literature (Sutton-Brady and Donnan, 2003). Having identifiedparallels the challenge now is to investigate whether Graph Theory, the fundamentalunderpinning of SON, can be using in analysing networks and relationships.Popularly graphs are perceived as typically involving an X and Y axis, however unlikethese continuous graphs, graphs as defined by Euler are ?finite in structure and can beused to analyse relationships? (Grimaldi, 1994). Using Euler’s definition of GraphTheory this paper will investigate the concept of connections in B2B networks.For the purposes of this research study the connection between business entities, or interms of Graph Theory the Edge, will be investigated longitudinally. Using a selection ofAustralian companies, this longitudinal study involves examining the connectionsbetween them and certain service providers. Essentially this study attempts to use GraphTheory to simplify the depiction of networks over time.
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Publish Year: 2004
Conference: Copenhagen, Denmark (2004)