This article outlines the mechanism by which brokerage provides social capital. Opinion and behavior are more homogeneous within than between groups, so people connected across groups are more familiar with alternative ways of thinking and behaving. Brokerage across the structural holes between groups provides a vision of options otherwise unseen, which is the mechanism by which brokerage becomes social capital. I review evidence consistent with the hypothesis, then look at the networks around managers in a large American electronics company. The organization is rife with structural holes, and brokerage has its expected correlates. Compensation, positive performance evaluations, promotions, and good ideas are disproportionately in the hands of people whose networks span structural holes. The between-group brokers are more likely to express ideas, less likely to have ideas dismissed, and more likely to have ideas evaluated as valuable. I close with implications for creativity and structural change.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/10.1086/421787.pdf

Structural Holes and Good Ideas.

Economics and Information Theory

Based on theories from the technological innovation literature, this study develops an integrated model of information systems (IS) adoption in small businesses. The model specifies contextual variables such as decision-maker characteristics, IS characteristics, organizational characteristics, and environmental characteristics as primary determinants of IS adoption in small businesses. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 166 small businesses. Data analysis shows that small businesses with certain CEO characteristics (innovativeness and level of IS knowledge), innovation characteristics (relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity of IS), and organizational characteristics (business size and level of employees' IS knowledge) are more likely to adopt IS. While CEO and innovation characteristics are important determinants of the decision to adopt, they do not affect the extent of IS adoption. The extent of IS adoption is mainly determined by organizational characteristics. Finally, the environmental characteristic of competition has no direct effect on small business adoption of IS.

An integrated model of information systems adoption in small businesses

Models of technology diffusion

Based on the curricula vitae and survey responses of 443 academic scientists affiliated with university research centers in the USA, we examine the longstanding assumption that research collaborati...

The Impact of Research Collaboration on Scientific Productivity

The relationship between age and the publishing productivity of Ph.D. scientists is analyzed using data from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (National Research Council) and the Science Citation Index. The longitudinal nature of the data allows for the identification of pure aging effects. In five of the six areas studied, life-cycle aging effects are present. Only in particle physics, where scientists often speak of being on a "religious quest," is the indication that scientific productivity is not investment-motivated. Vintage effects are also considered. The expectation that the latest educated are the most productive is not generally supported by the data. Copyright 1991 by American Economic Association.

Research productivity over the life cycle: evidence for academic scientists

This paper contributes to the debate on high-skilled migration byexamining whether the foreign-born and foreign-educated are disproportionatelyrepresented among individuals making exceptional contributions to science and engineering (S & E) in the U.S. Six indicators of scientific achievement areused: individuals elected to the National Academy of Sciences and/or National Academy of Engineering, authors of citation classics, authors of hot papers, the 250 most-cited authors, authors of highly cited patents, and scientistswho have played a key role in launching biotechnology firms. We do not claim that this list is exhaustive, merely illustrative.

Exceptional contributions to US science by the foreign-born and foreign-educated

Introduction How science is done: Why science is done Why age may matter Age and scientific productivity: Must one be young to do great things? Does the age structure of science matter? The importance of place and time Quality in science Age, cohort, anbd scientific productivity: A case study Conclusion References Index.

Striking the Mother Lode in Science: The Importance of Age, Place, and Time

Two p roportional hazard models are used to investigate the differingeffects of marke t structure variables on the conditional probabilityof a firm initially adoptin g the new technology of optical scanners as the innovation spreads through the f ood store industry. During the early stage, leading firms with large average sto re size which are not members of chains and which operate in less concentrated m arkets with higher incomes and wage rates, tend to adopt scanners sooner. Later on, differences in seller concentration, market share, and size become less impo rtant as other firms follow prior adoptions. Copyright 1987 by MIT Press.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1937895.pdf

Sharon G. Levin

Papers

Research productivity over the life cycle: evidence for academic scientists

Exceptional contributions to US science by the foreign-born and foreign-educated

Striking the Mother Lode in Science: The Importance of Age, Place, and Time

A dynamic analysis of the adoption of a new technology: the case of optical scanners

Striking the Mother Lode in Science: The Importance of Age, Place, and Time.