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AbstractIn this article I investigate the emerging patterns of the European corporate elite network as an example of a European social field, as described by Fligstein. The findings confirm that interlocking directorates form a European corporate network. However, the intercorporate network rests on a very small group of European corporate elite members: it remains the playground of a select few pan‐European 'big linkers'. Although financial institutions and bankers appear in the upper echelons of the network, they do not occupy crucial positions. Rather, (former) CEOs of Europe's largest big non‐financial businesses knit together the network of interlocking directorates. The network rests on a coalescence of finance and industry, rather than on the dominance of the one over the other. Although the project of European unification has been quite successful in organizing the formal institutional structures, it has not yet led to reproduction of a European business community reminiscent of the national communities.

AbstractIn this article, we study the emergence of computer aided network analysis as an example of 'Mertonian' multiple discovery. Computer assisted quantitative network analysis emerged around 1970 and small groups of researchers in different universities, who were independent of each other and looking for the right concepts and computer programs to implement graph theory in social analysis, first applied it to corporate interlock networks. We show how mathematical graph theory provided a toolbox for systematic network analysis and that simultaneously in the Netherlands and the United States this toolbox found an application in the study of corporate power. A historical narrative covers the three main centres in which large‐scale corporate network analysis emerged – Amsterdam, California and Stony Brook. For each centre, we provide a sketch of the people involved, the tools they used, and the motivations that brought them to this topic. Our analysis makes clear that one cannot understand the emergence of computer aided network analysis without considering the personal and often political motivations of those who engaged in the first board interlock studies. Insurgent students of political science and sociology pushed for a research agenda on corporate power and found support from scholars who were keen to develop innovative network analysis methods. Hence, corporate network analysis became a legitimate field of research.

This paper explores the role of elite networks in shaping business strategies in the cleantech industry. In order to do so, we investigate whether and if so how boards of directors cater to the resource needs of the innovative and expanding cleantech industry. We create a new dataset of the board network of leading cleantech firms that allows us to show how cleantech directors are integrated into the worlds of government, banking, and research. The strategic merits of board networks considered are 1/ the need for operational resources 2/ the need for conducive policies; and 3/ the need for market access. We find that Finance and Innovation are most sought after, and domestic networks remain dominant. While larger firms are well embedded in big business and finance, smaller corporations seek ties with innovation and policy networks. Cleantech firms currently show no significant capacity to reduce dependencies in terms of access to future cleantech markets. The findings suggest that the 'classic' resource needs, such as finance, are much better 'covered' through the board's network structures than those resources that would enable a firm to improve its long-standing needs, such as a favourable policy environment and access to future markets.

This paper explores the role of elite networks in shaping business strategies in the cleantech industry. In order to do so, we investigate whether and if so how boards of directors cater to the resource needs of the innovative and expanding cleantech industry. We create a new dataset of the board network of leading cleantech firms that allows us to show how cleantech directors are integrated into the worlds of government, banking, and research. The strategic merits of board networks considered are 1/ the need for operational resources 2/ the need for conducive policies; and 3/ the need for market access. We find that Finance and Innovation are most sought after, and domestic networks remain dominant. While larger firms are well embedded in big business and finance, smaller corporations seek ties with innovation and policy networks. Cleantech firms currently show no significant capacity to reduce dependencies in terms of access to future cleantech markets. The findings suggest that the 'classic' resource needs, such as finance, are much better 'covered' through the board's network structures than those resources that would enable a firm to improve its long-standing needs, such as a favourable policy environment and access to future markets.

AbstractCorporate elite studies have for long investigated networks of interlocking directorates to test and corroborate key theoretical expectations regarding the cohesive organization of such an elite and their ability and willingness to act on behalf of general business interests. These studies typically collect data on a list of 50, 100, 200 or 500 corporations ranked by economic size, sometimes stratified in sectors. The sampling approach often follows previous studies in order to increase comparability. These relatively arbitrary sampling practices are problematic because they impact the empirical results and our therefore the conclusions drawn from it. Using a sample of 3251 Canada‐based corporations, we establish that indeed different sampling criteria – that is sample size, proportion of financial firms, inclusion of state‐owned enterprises and so on – significantly impacts network properties of corporate elite networks. We establish rather disturbing differences, especially for smaller sample sizes (<100). Subsequently, we develop alternative demarcation criteria of the corporate elite based on a k‐core decomposition. We conclude by emphasizing that the sampling decisions in interlocking directorate studies should much more be carefully be thought through in future research on the topic, both in corporate elite studies and beyond.