Arachne - adaptive network strategy in a business environment

The dynamic behaviour of networks such as business webs is complex and poorly understood. While this is well known, actual studies creating and applying methodologies to quantify and structure the networks both as static snapshots and dynamic, changing landscapes have been relatively few-given the amount of literature devoted to value chains, b-webs and supply/ demand chains. This paper describes a framework for analysis of the structures and dynamics of networked relationships typical in the Internet era. In the paper, a fusion of traditional social network analysis (SNA) methods with business strategies is presented in the context of a wider methodology for strategic network analysis (our "Rosetta Stone"). As a demonstration of this wider concept, a methodology that utilises the results of SNA analysis for determination of company roles in the network of partnerships/ alliances is presented, together with visualisations developed for the Rosetta Stone and a neural network analysis. The case study, examining a real-world network of strategic alliances between 87 companies in the ICT sector, shows in our opinion that the methodology introduced here is capable of capturing the essentials of business networks to provide information for decision makers. Wider applications, e.g. for a new strategic perspective on the mastery of demand/supply networks, are easily identified. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.