Suchergebnisse

Debates over the Weberian programme for class analysis have involved a number of unresolved theoretical problems. It is argued that these problems can be resolved only if the theoretical foundations of the programme are clarified. In particular, the Weberian distinction between `class situation' and `social class', along with the distinction between `class' and `status', must be used to resolve the questions of the demographic formation of social classes, the individual and the family household as units of analysis, and the relationship between gender and class.

This paper reviews recent developments in the analysis of business power and the corporate elite, focussing on those approaches rooted in the techniques of social network analysis. A typology of research strategies is outlined, and this is illustrated through discussions of North American studies. It is argued that results from these studies cannot be generalized across all societies. This is illustrated with reference to European and Asian studies, where a number of variant patterns of corporate development can be discerned. Particular attention is given to Japan and the development of its pattern of corporate organization, which contrasts sharply with the dominant Anglo-American pattern.

This paper reports on the development of social network analysis, tracing its origins in classical sociology and its more recent formulation in social scientific and mathematical work. It is argued that the concept of social network provides a powerful model for social structure, and that a number of important formal methods of social network analysis can be discerned. Social network analysis has been used in studies of kinship structure, social mobility, science citations, contacts among members of deviant groups, corporate power, international trade exploitation, class structure, and many other areas. A review of the formal models proposed in graph theory, multidimensional scaling, and algebraic topology is followed by extended illustrations of social network analysis in the study of community structure and interlocking directorships.