This chapter attempts to bridge two different worlds, that of substantive social science theory and that of formal mathematical theory. It therefore has to be read and understood from both these perspectives simultaneously. Substantively speaking, this chapter explores how diverse, multi-level, sparsely (or densely) interconnected, complicated, and loosely (or tightly) integrated the structures and network processes involved in innovation may be. To study such intricate systems and processes, with very different forms and types and degrees of complexity, we need to reconsider and reconfigure the very basic concepts we use. That is where formal theories come in. The other goal of this chapter is to further the integration of formal theories of network dynamics with substantive theories of socio-historical dynamics and to outline how certain types of innovation play out within these dynamics.
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White, D.R. (2009). Innovation in the Context of Networks, Hierarchies, and Cohesion. In: Lane, D., Pumain, D., van der Leeuw, S.E., West, G. (eds) Complexity Perspectives in Innovation and Social Change. Methodos Series, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9663-1_6
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