The ghosts of networks past: The effects of past network ties on knowledge creation.

摘要

The question of which factors enable new knowledge production is of perennial importance. In contrast to the classic individual-based approach to this question, more recent work has emphasized the importance of social network ties for knowledge creation. However, prior studies have tended to focus on how current network ties influence current outcomes. A critical missing link in studies of network ties and knowledge creation involves the impact of past ties. In this dissertation, I develop and test theoretical arguments about the influence of past social network ties (e.g., "ghost ties") on subsequent knowledge creation. In developing and testing new theory about how past network ties influence subsequent knowledge production, I draw upon, and attempt to reconcile, three different, and potentially competing, explanations for how network ties lead to the generation of knowledge---social resource theory, weak tie theory, and structural holes theory.;The research setting is knowledge creation in academia. The data for scientific publications consist of coauthorship networks in major management journals from 1956 to 2006. The total number of distinct authors is 5,287. Panel data Poisson regression was used to test the effect of past network ties on the quantity of knowledge creation while panel data GLS regression was used to test this effect on the quality of knowledge creation. The results revealed that structural holes in an individual's past networks positively affected both the quantity and quality of knowledge creation, structural holes and weak ties from the distant past affected the quality of knowledge creation, even after controlling for structural holes and weak ties from the recent past. Implications and future research directions are identified.;Keywords. Past Network Ties, Knowledge Creation, Ghost Ties, Social Networks, Coauthorship Networks.