Information , knowledge and social networks : is a new buzzword coming up ? ♣

The analysis of social networks has recently become a central issue in industrial organisation. A growing literature has started to show the importance of social networks in the economy, above all to explain labour mobility and the actual production of innovation. I argue that using such concepts and analytical tools requires a deep understanding of what is meant by knowledge and by the mechanism underlying knowledge accumulation. The aim of this paper is to present a critical review of social networks analysis in industrial organisation. In order to do that, I sum up the sociological theoretical background of social networks and reconsider it using some results of the economics of knowledge. Preliminary and incomplete paper; please do not quote without the author’s consent. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Economics Department Ancona University and CESPRI Bocconi University http://www.cespri.it via Sarfatti 25; 20136 Milan Italy tel. ++39 02 5836 3368; fax. ++39 02 5836 3399 [email protected]