Interlocking Directorates Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This paper analyses the corporate hegemonic structures of power underlying the project of climate capitalism. Its promoters present climate capitalism as an emerging regime of accumulation founded on carbon markets and the ecological modernization of production, that could replace the prevalent carboniferous capitalist regime and provide a deeply needed reduction of carbon emissions. We empirically map out the network of corporate-funded policy-planning organizations participating in climate capitalist knowledge production and mobilization to critically appraise the possibility of such a transition. We find that these policy-planning organizations are positioned to play a crucial role as intermediaries between regional and sectoral corporate interests, and that they crucially link between energy and financial firms. However, energy-finance linkages are sparse, and we also find a relatively thin network carried by a small number of individual capitalists from the fossil fuel and nuclear sectors. These findings cast doubt on the hypothesis that a strong climate capitalist bloc is emerging.

- by JP Sapinski
- •
- Climate Change, Capitalism, Social Network Analysis (SNA), Climate Capitalism
- by Paolo Tullio
- •
- Comparative Law, Corporate Law, Competition Law, Antitrust (Law)

La historiografía ha destacado la importancia de las escuelas de negocios en la difusión de las formas de gestión empresarial norteamericanas en Europa después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pero no ha encontrado una forma de cuantificar su impacto sobre la economía. Con este objetivo, el presente artículo examina las relaciones entre las dos principales escuelas de negocios privadas españolas, IESE y ESADE, y la élite corporativa nacional. Combinando el enfoque institucional con el análisis de redes sociales se muestra la incidencia de las escuelas de negocios sobre los órganos directivos de las mayores sociedades anónimas españolas durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX, y se explica su función como centros de reproducción de la élite.
Literature has highlighted the key role of business schools in spreading US management in Europe after the Second World War, but has not found how to quantify its impact on the economy. With such purpose, this article examines the relations between the two main Spanish private business schools, IESE and ESADE, and the national corporate elite. By combining an institutional approach and social networks analysis, it shows the incidence of business schools on the board of directors of the largest Spanish corporations during the second half of the 20th century, and explains their role as centers for elite reproduction.

- by Luis Chirosa and +1
- •
- Economic History, Business History, Interlocking Directorates, Business Schools

One of the main concerns about interlocking directorates is their effect on corporate performance; however, there is little research undertaken on this issue. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the effect of interlocking directorates on corporate performance by considering the nature and the direction of interlocking. The analyses are based on the data of 741 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia in 2007. The Ordinary Least Square regression results show that the number of interlocking companies, inter-industry interlocking directorates and interlocking created by independent directors are all significant and positively related to corporate performance, which is consistent with the resource dependence theory and the corporate governance theory. However, it is also discovered that both multiple directorships by executive directors and non-executive non-independent directors do not have any effect on corporate performance, which is consistent with the class integration theory. Despite the negative perception on interlocking directorates by the public, the findings suggest that interlocking directorates actually benefit shareholders by enhancing the earnings performance of the corporation.

- by Saidatunur Fauzi Saidin
- •
- Interlocking Directorates

Using date on interlocking directorates, we test three theories of corporate organization: managerialism, coalition theory, and the theory of finance capital. Findings indicate that the modern corporation is not an autonomous unit as suggested by managerialism, that firms do not form flexible alliances which pursue mutual interests, as implied by coalition theory, and that the interest groups of traditional finance capital theory do not characterize the interlock network of the 1960s. Instead, the system is dominated by a handful of interconnected major New York commercial banks and insurance companies which form the center of an integrated national network.

- by Michael Schwartz and +1
- •
- Political Economy, Corporate Governance, Corporate Finance, Political Elites

Network analysis techniques are used for investigating the probable effects of a change in the regulation
aiming to prevent the anticompetitive effects of interlocking directorates (ID), that is the crossed presence of
directors in the boards of competing firms. The case study considers a recent Italian law (Section 36 of Law
Decree n. 201/2011) which prohibits ID for credit, insurance and financial companies. The ID networks of
the top-100 Italian listed companies and of the financial companies in this same list are considered and
compared with the analogous networks in the US. The US networks represent a benchmark given that in the
US companies act under Section 8 of the Clayton Act that has banned ID since 1914. The effects on the ID
networks of the new Italian law are simulated under two different interpretations of the law. If the law will be
applied according to a narrow interpretation, the Italian ID network will rest substantially unaltered.
However, if the law will be applied according to a broad interpretation, the ID network for financial firms
will be completely modified with a network configuration very similar to the American benchmark.

- by Leonardo Marroni and +1
- •
- Competition Law, Corporate Governance, Financial Regulation, Interlocking Directorates

Today’s media companies seem to be more intertwined than ever. But are they? Do these “interlocks” affect editors and the content journalists produce? This study uses a three-method design to examine the connections among newspaper organizations and corporations. The network analysis examined the interlocks among newspaper companies’ directors. The second phase surveyed editors of newspapers owned by these companies to assess the influence on the newsroom from the board and parent company. In the third phase, news coverage of directors and their affiliated organizations was content analyzed for newspapers whose editors perceived pressure “from above.” The network analysis results suggest a monolithic interlocking structure that previous scholars feared. For one-third of survey respondents, corporate parents and the boardroom were seen as influencing the newsroom. These “pressured editors” perceived significantly stronger pressures from the boardroom, “ownership/upper management,” and business interests than editors who did not indicate pressure from above. So, how did pressured newsrooms cover ownership and directors? Routine coverage of directors and their affiliated organizations was lacking. Disclosure of a relationship between a director or affiliated organization and the newspaper was disclosed half of the time and traditional journalistic scrutiny was applied less than half of the time.

- by Adam Saffer and +1
- •
- Communication, Media Studies, Journalism, Social Network Analysis (SNA)

This paper analyses the evolution of the corporate networks in two Latin economies – Argentina and Italy – from 1913 to 1990 by using the interlocking directorates’ technique. The paper focuses on six benchmark years: 1914 (1913 for Italy); 1923 (1927), 1936 (1937), 1954 (1952), 1970 (1972), and 1990 (1983). For each benchmark year, the largest 25 banks and 100 industrial companies have been selected for each country. For each benchmark year, after showing a descriptive statistics of the companies and the directors included in the sample, the paper develops a network connectivity analysis of the system in the two countries. This is integrated by historical and structural analysis. For the first time in corporate networks’ historical analyses, this paper includes syndics – special auditors for firms – as well as directors in the sample. This paper shows that, despite both Argentina and Italy belong to the same legal family, their corporate networks show a different structure and evolution over time. Also the actors that shaped the overall structure of the two corporate networks are different: in Argentina a major role was played by foreign multinationals, while in Italy the crucial actors were banks and state-owned enterprises.

- by Erica Salvaj and +2
- •
- Business, Economic History, Social Networks, International Business

This chapter explores the role of family firms in Spanish interlocking directorates. We studied a sample of the 396 largest Spanish firms and their 2417 directors, and found that family firms are less central in the Spanish interlocks than non-family firms. Family firms avoid the creation of direct links among them by sharing independent directors. Nevertheless, the network of the top family firms is denser than expected thanks to a few directors that span family firms and non-family firms. We conclude by developing a set of propositions on the factors that explain the construction of interlock networks in family firms.

- by Erica Salvaj
- •
- Social Networks, Social Sciences, Family Business, Interorganizational Relationships
- by Zong-Rong Lee
- •
- Business Networks, Taiwan Studies, Interlocking Directorates

When the Tunisian government seized the assets of the Ben Ali clan in 2011, prosperous companies were sold to some fractions of the business elite which started adopting a strategy of direct intervention in the political sphere to consolidate their resources and find new opportunities. In order to study the position of business elites in Tunisia we use a methodology combining a social network analysis (SNA) of the board of directors of Tunisian listed companies and a qualitative history of its political economy. We shed light on the regional identities of some family groups and the centrality of financial institutions such as insurance companies. The financial sector is dominated by the State, but some Djerbian families occupy important positions. Sfaxian entrepreneurs are organized in clusters that control certain large industrial enterprises.

- by HOUDA BEN HAMOUDA and +1
- •
- Political Economy, Middle East Studies, Social Network Analysis (SNA), MENA region

In Morocco, the central government uses the technique of business governance to control economic elites. This article draws upon network analysis and semi-directive interviews to study the interlocking directorates of companies listed on the Casablanca stock exchange. This method shows that the structure of Moroccan capitalism is characterized by significant centralization and the rising power of groups that rely upon a strategy of financialization. It also reveals that the central government now relies on control over two institutional investors that supply advice and financial resources to the country’s economic elites.

- by abdellatif zeroual and +1
- •
- Economic Sociology, Morocco, Social Network Analysis (SNA), Interlocking Directorates

We investigate the rule that the P2, the well-known Italian clandestine masonic lodge, had in the economic developments in the country. Considering all firms listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, we analyse the interlocking directorates between the banks and firms infiltrated and not infiltrated by the P2. Our results show that in the 1980-1981 period firms infiltrated by the P2 accounted for the most part of the connections and exhibited higher network centrality. Since 1982 there is a general scaling-down of these firms: an event consistent with negative impact of the public discovery of the P2 lodge during 1981.

- by Stefano Lucarelli and +1
- •
- Social Networking, Freemasonry, Research into Freemasonry, Italy

THE CORE MANAGEMENT ELITE. With a view to shedding light on what a person needs to be accepted into the core management elite, we examine the socio-demographic characteristics, the training and the professional paths of the directors of the top 100 French companies (as quoted on the stock exchange). Ultimately it transpires that being a member of the « upper middle class » or indeed being an « heir » to a company are strong advantages whereas an international career can be a handicap.

- by Catherine Comet and +1
- •
- Economic Sociology, CEO, Social reproduction, Interlocking Directorates
- by JP Sapinski and +1
- •
- Political Sociology, Political Economy, Social Networking, Social Network Analysis (SNA)

Transnational Capitalist Class (TCC) theory is rooted in the claim that the globalization of the economy has led to a globalization of economic interests and class formation on a global scale. However, systematic evidence linking the indicators of transnational class formation with political behaviour is largely missing. In this study, I combine data on board of director interlocks among the 500 largest business firms in the world between 2000 and 2006 with data on political donations by foreign corporations in US elections via their subsidiary/division/affiliate’s corporate political action committees (PACs). Controlling for various individual firm interests, I find that foreign firms that are highly central in the transnational inter-corporate network contribute more money to US elections than less central foreign firms. Given prior research on board of director interlocks, this finding suggests that there is a segment of the transnational business community that has emerged as a class-for-itself.

- by Joshua Murray
- •
- Economic Sociology, Political Sociology, Globalization, Sociology of Organizations

This paper departs from the observation that a systematic review of the available theories, concepts, and methods and techniques for researching lobbying is lacking. Lobbying is a relational geography of power. And although economic and political geographers study a range of practices that could be considered constitutive to lobbying, they have hitherto largely ignored the spaces of lobbying. We conceptualize lobbying as a practice of three flows between spaces of lobbying: the flows of people between organizations, the flows of ideas between these people and the flows of resources between organizations. Lobbying is fundamental to understanding the execution of power by firms towards a range of state actors, and understood as the directed actions of individuals and groups to alter, influence or hamper the decision-making process of governments; these actions consist of the mobilization of resources that activate power and enable access to spaces of lobbying. Access to different spaces of lobbying will influence the effectiveness of lobbying practices. Geographers are in a unique position to look at the mobilization of power through access to spaces of lobbying and its resources. We discuss how lobbying is supported by material and immaterial resources for the re/production of spaces of lobbying. Finally, we present different methods and techniques to research lobbying.
Keywords: firms, state, power, space, lobbying, economic geography, political geography

- by Annelore Hofman and +1
- •
- Discourse Analysis, Economic Sociology, Economic Geography, Game Theory

This paper analyzes, compares, and explains the corporate elite networks formed by interlocking directorates across five Latin American economies in order to comprehend why corporate elites are interconnected by cohesive networks in some countries and not in others. Results show cohesive elite networks in Mexico, Chile, and to some extent in Peru, but not in Brazil and Colombia. After testing and rejecting the hypotheses from existing theories, I identify complementarities among cohesive corporate elite networks, state-business relations through strong encompassing business associations and market openness. In economies where state-business relations are mediated by strong encompassing business associations and open up to free trade with developed economies, corporate elites form cohesive networks, whereas in economies with weak encompassing business associations and low trade openness, corporate elites do not form cohesive networks. These novel explanations are suitable to figure out corporate elite networks in emerging economies, and a benchmark for future studies on corporate elites.

- by Julian Cardenas
- •
- Social Network Analysis (SNA), Elites, Interlocking Directorates, Business Elites

Conflicting perspectives appear when thinking about the emergence of a cohesive transnational corporate network in Latin America. On the one hand, regional political integration, foreign investment growth, increased cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and cultural and linguistic homogeneity may have fostered transnational networks among Latin America's corporate elites. On the other hand, domestic-based business groups, family control and trade orientation to the USA may have hindered the emergence of a cohesive transnational corporate network in Latin America. Based on a network analysis of interlocking directorates among the 300 largest corporations in Latin America, I ask whether the region's corporate elites interconnect at the transnational level and form a cohesive transnational corporate network. I found few transnational interlocks, a lack of cohesion in the transnational corporate network and no regional leaders. Corporate elites in Latin America are not transnationally interconnected and so a cohesive transnational corporate network has not emerged. I discuss implications and avenues of future research.

- by Julian Cardenas
- •
- Elites, Interlocking Directorates, Poder, Análisis de redes sociales

We develop and illustrate two applications of Bonacich centrality analyzes to large sparse networks. We first point to and define the difference between derived and reflected centrality in large networks; and then apply this distinction to describe the how key nodes in the network can be distinguished by their reliance on hub or bridge centrality.

- by Peter Mariolis and +1
- •
- Social Networks, Interorganizational Relationships, Interorganizational Networks, Social Network Analysis (SNA)

This article presents a network analysis of elite interlocks among the world’s 500 largest corporations and a purposive sample of transnational policyplanning boards. The analysis compares the situation in 1996 with 2006 and reveals a process of transnational capitalist class formation that is regionally uneven. Network analysis points to a process of structural consolidation through which policy boards have become more integrative nodes, brokering elite relations between firms from different regions, especially Europe and North America. As national corporate networks have thinned, the global corporate-policy network’s centre of gravity has shifted towards Europe, both at the level of individuals and organizations. Although this study finds a modest increase in participation of corporate elites from the Global South, a North Atlantic ruling class remains at the centre of the process of transnational capitalist class formation.

- by Bill Carroll and +1
- •
- Sociology, Economic Sociology, Globalization, Global Governance

This chapter provides an introduction to the literature on interlocking directorates and corporate networks. It first traces the historical roots of the field back to the early 20th century, when researchers on both sides of the Atlantic started expressing concern about the threat to democratic process posed by the emergent corporate form, the potential for collusion allowed by the growing practice of interlocking directorate, and the general concentration of power in the hands of large firms and banks. It then outlines the major theoretical approaches employed, that focus on the corporate network as a set of both interorganizational and interindividual relationships. Third, it summarizes the main findings on the cohesiveness of the corporate community, the hegemonic position of banks, and historical changes and longitudinal dynamics of the network. Finally, it discusses most recent debates on the globalization, the emergence of a European corporate network, and the decline and recomposition of the corporate community.

- by Erica Salvaj
- •
- Economic History, Sociology, Latin American Studies, Historical Sociology

Network analysis techniques are used for investigating the probable effects of a change in the regulation that aims to prevent the anticompetitive effects of the crossed presence of the same administrators in the boards of directors of competing firms, known as interlocking directorates (ID). The case study considered is a recent Italian law (Section 36 of Law Decree n. 201/2011) which prohibits ID on the boards of credit, insurance and financial companies. The ID networks of the top-100 Italian listed companies and of the financial companies in this same list are considered and compared with the analogous networks in the U.S.. The U.S. networks represent a benchmark given that in the U.S. companies act in the shadow of the Section 8 of the Clayton Act that has banned ID since 1914. The effects on the ID networks of the new Italian law are simulated under two different interpretations of the law. If the law will be applied according to a narrow interpretation, Italian ID network will rest substantially unaltered. On the other hand if the law will be applied according to a broad interpretation, the ID network for financial firms will be completely modified with a network configuration very similar to the American benchmark.

This article reviews the research on the significance of director interlocks for corporate decision-making. Some interlocks represent corporation-corporation connections that facilitate formal coordination. Others represent... more

In this paper we examine the relationship among business groups (BGs) in Chile in the long run, focusing on the relations between the state viewed as a BG and privately-owned BGs from 1970 to 2010. Our analysis proceeds within the methodological perspective of interlocking directorates (IDs) analysis. Working with a unique database of the boards of affiliated firms to BGs, we consider IDs as a way to learn about the cohesion and relation between these BGs. We include a period of political change and institutional and economic modernization in Chile, which also involved a transformation in the character of the entrepreneurial class in the country. We find that the state BG has played an important role in the networks of Chilean capitalism. Our work complements the literature on BGs and state capitalism, showing the rich nature of social networks in a capitalist society.

- by Erica Salvaj
- •
- Business, Business Administration, History, Economic History

Although several works have suggested that interlocking directorates are mechanisms that have the potential to facilitate collusion, few studies have investigated the matter empirically, and none have systematically considered known cartel cases. Taking a European perspective, and focusing on four different time periods, the present work investigates the extent to which companies that are directly and indirectly connected via interlocking directorships simultaneously or subsequently collude. Utilizing network analysis software the study provides a new method for identifying the two forms of business ties and possible overlaps between them. The analysis is based on an original dataset of European Community cartel cases and data on interlocking directorates developed by others. Very few examples are found of colluding companies that were previously directly or indirectly connected via interlocking directorates. This finding suggests that interlocking directorates rarely facilitate collusive activities.

- by Hubert Buch-Hansen
- •
- Business, Political Economy, Competition Law, International Political Economy
- by Bill Carroll
- •
- Business, Political Sociology, Political Economy, Social Networking

This article presents a network analysis of elite interlocks among the world’s 500 largest corporations and a purposive sample of transnational policy-planning boards. The analysis compares the situation in 1996 with 2006 and reveals a process of transnational capitalist class formation that is regionally uneven. Network analysis points to a process of structural consolidation through which policy boards have become more integrative nodes, brokering elite relations between firms from different regions, especially Europe and North America. As national corporate networks have thinned, the global corporate-policy network’s centre of gravity has shifted towards Europe, both at the level of individuals and organizations. Although this study finds a modest increase in participation of corporate elites from the Global South, a North Atlantic ruling class remains at the centre of the process of transnational capitalist class formation.

- by Bill Carroll
- •
- Sociology, Economic Sociology, Globalization, Global Governance

In a collective enterprise, fourteen leading social scientists have worked closely to explore the power network connecting U.S. corporate structure with other key sectors of the society. In clear, non-technical terms, the contributors examine such issues as interlocking boards, business control of banks, the government as an agent of the ruling class, the "cap-ture" of regulatory agencies by the businesses they were supposed to regulate, and penetration of various U.S. insti-tutions by a corporate "inner group." In addition, this volume contains the first general analysis of the structure of intercorporate co-ordination among multinational businesses and the expression of business interest in educa-tional systems, transportation policy, urban investment, and academic political theory. Together the essays address not only the processes of cor-porate decision making and policy formation, but also the vulnerability of the elite to mass discontent, the fragility of its role in the face of mass action

- by Michael Schwartz and +3
- •
- Political Economy, Social Policy, Corporate Governance, Marxist theory

This article investigates the behavior and cohesion of the Argentine businesselite during the period of import substitution industrialization (ISI) analyzingthe interlocking directorates between 1954 and 1970-1971. This study providesthe first relational map of large companies and banks in Argentina during theISI period applying the social network analysis method. In this work we arguethat the corporate network in Argentina during the ISI period was characterizedby a high level of fragmentation. If interlocking directorates can be consideredan expression of the cohesion of the corporate elite, our findings show thelimited joint capacity of the corporate network to coordinate economic andbusiness activities. This article also posits that the cohesion of the boards’network declined between 1954 and 1970. A change in large companies’ownership structure drove a shift in the interlocking directorates. A secondfactor explaining this change was a context characterized by frequent changesin economic policy, strong distribution clashes, and severe macroeconomicand institutional volatility. This research indicates that, in a setting wherelong-term planning proved difficult, board interlocking became lessstrategically significant as a business coordination mechanism.

- by Erica Salvaj and +1
- •
- Business, Latin American Studies, Social Networks, Social Sciences
- by Giovanni Di Bartolomeo
- •
- Network Economics, Competition, Interlocking Directorates, Antitrust

Enredar a las elites empresariales es un llamamiento a estudiar las redes de las personas y organizaciones que dirigen y controlan las grandes empresas. Este artículo analiza y visibiliza a las elites empresariales en México, Chile, Perú y Brasil mediante el análisis de redes de interlocking directorates y propiedad entre las grandes empresas. Los resultados contribuyen a teorías y debates sobre la organización de las elites y el poder en base al análisis de casos de América Latina. Palabras clave: elites empresariales; análisis de redes; interlocking directorates; enlaces de pro-piedad; organización del poder. ABSTRACT: Interweaving business elites is a call to study the networks among the people and organizations that manage and control the largest corporations.

- by Julian Cardenas
- •
- Social Network Analysis (SNA), Ownership, Elites, Interlocking Directorates

This article examines the interlocking directorates' structure of prominent Argentine business groups at the end of the import substitution period (1970–72), identifying corporate relations among and between business groups and the largest companies, during a period characterised by high institutional and macroeconomic instability. Applying social network analysis, it seeks to clarify how business groups can contribute to the cohesion of a corporate network structure, through their ability to create links among firms not only within their boundaries but also external to them. The article contributes to both corporate network and business groups' literature, highlighting a role of business groups that extant literature has failed to identify as relevant.

- by maria ines barbero and +2
- •
- Business, History, Economic History, Sociology

This paper analyses the corporate hegemonic structures of power underlying the project of climate capitalism. Its promoters present climate capitalism as an emerging regime of accumulation founded on carbon markets and the ecological modernization of production, that could replace the prevalent carboniferous capitalist regime and provide a deeply needed reduction of carbon emissions. We empirically map out the network of corporate-funded climate and environmental policy groups participating in climate capitalist knowledge production and mobilization to critically appraise the possibility of such a transition. We find that these policy groups are positioned to play a crucial role as intermediaries between regional and sectoral corporate interests, and that they crucially link between energy and financial firms. However, energy-finance linkages are sparse, and we also find a relatively thin network carried by a small number of individual capitalists from the fossil fuel and nuclear sectors.
These findings cast doubt on the hypothesis that a strong climate capitalist coalition is emerging.

- by Erica Salvaj
- •
- Business, Latin American Studies, Political Economy, Social Networks

This paper compares the corporate network strategies between mul-tinational corporations of two different origins (United States and Spain), business groups, and state-owned enterprises in the public utility sector of a developing country going through economic and political transitions. The transitions we consider are from an import substitution industrialization model to an open market economy and from a democratic regime to a dictatorial one and back to democ-racy. We analyze the Chilean telecommunications sector between 1958 and 2005 and find that during a democratic regime all firms sought to build more networks with each other, while incentives decrease under an authoritarian regime. In the protectionist era, US investors built links with Chile’s corporate elite, while in times of an open economy, Spanish investors built these links with the gov-ernment. State-owned corporations did not attempt to build links with other actors at any time, and business groups sought to build most networks among members of the group. Our findings chal-lenge two commonly held assumptions: first, that open economies decrease incentives for domestic actors to build links with each other and, second, that close political regimes increase incentives to build networks among economic actors.

- by Erica Salvaj and +1
- •
- Business, Business Administration, Latin American Studies, Development Economics

This study explores the evolution of social networks formed by the connection between boards of directors —interlocking directorates relationship— of Spanish listed companies in the period 1999-2008, and offers a fresh approach to the study of corporate governance. The analysis provides insights into how power structures work in the economic sphere, furthers current understanding of the role played by the board of directors, and explores in greater depth the role of independent directors as promoted by codes of good practices. The results reveal structural changes in the network, which have been further fragmented in recent years and which evidence lower density values, features that are more common among networks in Anglo-American countries. The central analysis reveals a shift in financial sector companies to more peripheral positions, giving greater prominence to private companies within the energy or construction sectors, and indicating a change from the banking model to a more Anglo-American one.

- by Pablo de Andres and +1
- •
- Social Networking, Corporate Governance, Spain, Interlocking Directorates

The fundamental question of management research is to explore the determinants of differences in company performance. These determinants are both exogenous and endogenous. Network literature highlights the importance of access to external resources available to a firm through its network. The main objective of the presented research is primarily to test the relationship between the performance of companies and their position within anetwork. The empirical field of this research covered companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. We test effects of structural positions in two networks among the same set of companies linked by boards and ownership ties. Social network analysis (SNA) methods were used to determine positional characteristics of firms. The results of our research underline the importance of ownership links and firms' positions in corporate networks for firms' performance and strategic risk.

To study the persistence of non-market strategies and associated governance structures during a transition from a limited political and economic system to a more open one, this article analyzes the network strategies of domestic business groups, multinational corporations, and state-owned enterprises in Chile, relative to its historical context of institutional transitions between 1970 and 2010. We argue that (a) the effects of transitions at the institutional environment level are historically determined and require historically informed methodologies and analyses; (b) a transition from limited to open economic and political environments does not necessarily eliminate market imperfections but could change them from transactional to structural; and (c) open political and economic systems do not decrease incentives for non-market strategies but instead create new incentives to use them.

This article examines the interlocking directorates’ structure of prominent Argentine business groups at the end of the import sub-stitution period (1970–72), identifying corporate relations among and between business groups and the largest companies, during aperiod characterised by high institutional and macroeconomic instability. Applying social network analysis, it seeks to clarify how business groups can contribute to the cohesion of a corporate network structure, through their ability to create links among ﬁrms not only within their boundaries but also external to them. The article contributes to both corporate network and business groups’ literature, highlighting a role of business groups that extant literatura has failed to identify as relevant.

- by Erica Salvaj
- •
- Business, History, Economic History, Sociology

- by OSCAR LOPEZ-DE-FORONDA
- •
- Social Networking, Corporate Governance, Spain, Interlocking Directorates