International Corporate Networks: Network Hierarchy and Coordination

Abstract

This article examines the relationship of executive level ties between firms and firm behavior. By doing so, the article places an emphasis on elites within corporations as actors in policy-making in a field that has been largely state-centric in its analysis. Taking corporate interests into the context of ever increasing globalization, I argue that firm elites' centrality in transnational executive networks better positions a firm to influence policy due to greater information exchange and pooled resources and that the firm is more likely to attempt to influence policy due to an increased range of interests. This article tests the impact of centrality by examining how cross-board ties in corporate networks increases the likelihood that firms will attempt to influence policy via lobbying.

Keywords: Networks, International Political Economy