Innovation creation and diffusion in a social network: an agent based approach

Lamieri, Marco and Ietri, Daniele (2004): Innovation creation and diffusion in a social network: an agent based approach. Unpublished.

Abstract

Market is not only the result of the behaviour of agents, as we
can find other forms of contact and communication. Many of them
are determined by proximity conditions in some kind of space: in this
paper we pay a particular attention to relational space, that is the
space determined by the relationships between individuals.
The paper starts from a brief account on theoretical and empirical
literature on social networks. Social networks represent people and
their relationships as networks, in which individuals are nodes and the
relationships between them are ties. In particular, graph theory is used
in literature in order to demonstrate some properties of social networks
summarised in the concept of Small Worlds. The concept may be
used to explain how some phenomena involving relations among agents
have effects on multiple different geographical scales, involving both
the local and the global scale.
The empirical section of the paper is introduced by a brief summary
of simulation techniques in social science and economics as a way
to investigate complexity. The model investigates the dynamics of a
population of firms (potential innovators) and consumers interacting
in a space defined as a social network. Consumers are represented in
the model in order to create a competitive environment pushing enterprises
into innovative process (we refer to Schumpeter’s definition):
from interaction between consumers and firms innovation emerges as
a relational good.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Innovation; small world; computational economics; network; complexity
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L20 - General; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance > L10 - General; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C6 - Mathematical Methods and Programming > C63 - Computational Techniques; O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes; D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D24 - Production; Cost; Capital and Total Factor Productivity; Capacity
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