Social networks and cooperation: a bibliometric study

Abstract

The social network analysis involves social and behavioral science. The decentralization of productive activities, such as the formation of "network organizations" as a result of downsizing of large corporate structures of the past, marked by outsoucing and formation of alliances, shows the importance of this theme. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the theory of cooperation and social networks over a period of 24 years. For this, was performed a bibliometric study with content analysis. The database chosen for the initial sample search was ISI Web of Science. The search topics were “social network” and “cooperation”. Were analyzed 97 articles and their references, through networks of citations. The main identified research groups dealing with issues related to trust, strategic alliances, natural cooperation, game theory, social capital, intensity of interaction, reciprocity and innovation. It was found that the publications occurred in a large number of journals, which indicates that the theme is multidisciplinary, and only five journals published at least three articles. Although the first publication has occurred in 1987, was from 2006 that the publications effectively increased. The areas most related to the theme of the research were performance, evolution, management, graphics, model and game theory.