Multiplex Networks 1 Running Head: MULTIPLEX NETWORKS The Coevolution of Multiplex Networks in Organizational Communities

This research examines how multiplex organizational networks coevolve. Evolutionary and network theories were used to develop hypotheses about tie formation in both uniplex and multiple networks in organizational communities. Based on data between 1997 and 2005 collected from the records of development projects in the field of Information and Communication Technology for Development, the study demonstrates that dynamics in one network are significant drivers of tie formation in the other network at both dyadic and triadic levels. In particular, results show that the effects of common thirdparty ties and structural embeddedness exist across multiplex networks, leading to the formation of dense local clusters of organizations. Further, the study explains endogenous and exogenous mechanisms that lead to the formation of multiplex ties. The results suggest that resource similarity of organizational dyads, resource width, and organizational centrality have positive effects on the propensity of multiplex tie formation. These results have implications for organizations’ networking strategies in a wide variety of developing as well as developed organizational communities.