Small‐World Networks and Management Science Research: A Review

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on small‐world networks in social science and management. This relatively new area of research represents an unusual level of cross‐disciplinary research within social science and between social science and the physical sciences. We review the findings of this emerging area with an eye to describing the underlying theory of small worlds, the technical apparatus, promising facts, and unsettled issues for future research.

Keywords: networks, complexity, organizations