Lecture Notes for IEOR 266: Graph Algorithms and Network Flows

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Lecture Notes for IEOR 266: Graph Algorithms and Network Flows Lecture Notes for IEOR 266: Graph Algorithms and Network Flows Professor Dorit S. Hochbaum Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Assignment problem . 1 1.2 Basic graph definitions . 2 2 Totally unimodular matrices 4 3 Minimum cost network flow problem 5 3.1 Transportation problem . 7 3.2 The maximum flow problem . 8 3.3 The shortest path problem . 8 3.4 The single source shortest paths . 9 3.5 The bipartite matching problem . 9 3.6 Summary of classes of network flow problems . 11 3.7 Negative cost cycles in graphs . 11 4 Other network problems 12 4.1 Eulerian tour . 12 4.1.1 Eulerian walk . 14 4.2 Chinese postman problem . 14 4.2.1 Undirected chinese postman problem . 14 4.2.2 Directed chinese postman problem . 14 4.2.3 Mixed chinese postman problem . 14 4.3 Hamiltonian tour problem . 14 4.4 Traveling salesman problem (TSP) . 14 4.5 Vertex packing problems (Independent Set) . 15 4.6 Maximum clique problem . 15 4.7 Vertex cover problem . 15 4.8 Edge cover problem . 16 4.9 b-factor (b-matching) problem . 16 4.10 Graph colorability problem . 16 4.11 Minimum spanning tree problem . 17 5 Complexity analysis 17 5.1 Measuring quality of an algorithm . 17 5.1.1 Examples . 18 5.2 Growth of functions . 20 i IEOR266 notes: Updated 2014 ii 5.3 Definitions for asymptotic comparisons of functions . 21 5.4 Properties of asymptotic notation . 21 5.5 Caveats of complexity analysis . 21 5.6 A sketch of the ellipsoid method . 22 6 Graph representations 23 6.1 Node-arc adjacency matrix . 23 6.2 Node-node adjacency matrix . 23 6.3 Node-arc adjacency list . 24 6.4 Comparison of the graph representations . 25 6.4.1 Storage efficiency comparison . 25 6.4.2 Advantages and disadvantages comparison . 25 7 Graph search algorithms 25 7.1 Generic search algorithm . 25 7.2 Breadth first search (BFS) . 26 7.3 Depth first search (DFS) . 27 7.4 Applications of BFS and DFS . 27 7.4.1 Checking if a graph is strongly connected . 27 7.4.2 Checking if a graph is acyclic . 28 7.4.3 Checking of a graph is bipartite . 29 8 Shortest paths 29 8.1 Introduction . 29 8.2 Properties of DAGs . 29 8.2.1 Topological sort and directed acyclic graphs . 30 8.3 Properties of shortest paths . 31 8.4 Alternative formulation for SP from s to t ........................ 32 8.5 Shortest paths on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) . 32 8.6 Applications of the shortest/longest path problem on a DAG . 33 8.7 Dijkstra's algorithm . 36 8.8 Bellman-Ford algorithm for single source shortest paths . 39 8.9 Floyd-Warshall algorithm for all pairs shortest paths . 41 8.10 D.B. Johnson's algorithm for all pairs shortest paths . 42 8.11 Matrix multiplication algorithm for all pairs shortest paths . 43 8.12 Why finding shortest paths in the presence of negative cost cycles is difficult . 44 9 Maximum flow problem 45 9.1 Introduction . 45 9.2 Linear programming duality and max flow min cut . 46 9.3 Applications . 47 9.3.1 Hall's theorem . 47 9.3.2 The selection problem . 48 9.3.3 The maximum closure problem . 51 9.3.4 The open-pit mining problem . 54 9.3.5 Forest clearing . 54 9.3.6 Producing memory chips (VLSI layout) . 55 9.4 Flow Decomposition . 56 IEOR266 notes: Updated 2014 iii 9.5 Algorithms . 57 9.5.1 Ford-Fulkerson algorithm . 57 9.5.2 Maximum capacity augmenting path algorithm . 60 9.5.3 Capacity scaling algorithm . 61 9.5.4 Dinic's algorithm for maximum flow . 62 10 Goldberg's Algorithm - the Push/Relabel Algorithm 68 10.1 Overview . 68 10.2 The Generic Algorithm . 69 10.3 Variants of Push/Relabel Algorithm . 72 10.4 Wave Implementation of Goldberg's Algorithm (Lift-to-front) . 72 11 The pseudoflow algorithm 73 11.1 Initialization . 74 11.2 A labeling pseudoflow algorithm . 75 11.3 The monotone pseudoflow algorithm . 76 11.4 Complexity summary . 77 12 The minimum spanning tree problem (MST) 79 12.1 IP formulation . 79 12.2 Properties of MST . 80 12.2.1 Cut Optimality Condition . 80 12.2.2 Path Optimality Condition . 81 12.3 Algorithms of MST . 81 12.3.1 Prim's algorithm . 82 12.3.2 Kruskal's algorithm . 83 12.4 Maximum spanning tree . 83 13 Complexity classes and NP-completeness 84 13.1 Search vs. Decision . 85 13.2 The class NP ........................................ 86 13.2.1 Some Problems in NP ............................... 86 13.3 co-NP ............................................ 87 13.3.1 Some Problems in co-NP ............................. 87 13.4 NP and co-NP ....................................... 87 13.5 NP-completeness and reductions . 88 13.5.1 Reducibility . 88 13.5.2 NP-Completeness . 89 14 Approximation algorithms 93 14.1 Traveling salesperson problem (TSP) . 94 14.2 Vertex cover problem . 95 14.3 Integer programs with two variables per inequality . 98 15 Necessary and Sufficient Condition for Feasible Flow in a Network 99 15.1 For a network with zero lower bounds . 99 15.2 In the presence of positive lower bounds . 100 15.3 For a circulation problem . 100 15.4 For the transportation problem ..
Recommended publications
  • Tutorial 13 Travelling Salesman Problem1
    MTAT.03.286: Design and Analysis of Algorithms University of Tartu Tutorial 13 Instructor: Vitaly Skachek; Assistants: Behzad Abdolmaleki, Oliver-Matis Lill, Eldho Thomas. Travelling Salesman Problem1 Basic algorithm Definition 1 A Hamiltonian cycle in a graph is a simple circuit that passes through each vertex exactly once. + Problem. Let G(V; E) be a complete undirected graph, and c : E 7! R be a cost function defined on the edges. Find a minimum cost Hamiltonian cycle in G. This problem is called a travelling salesman problem. To illustrate the motivation, imagine that a salesman has a list of towns it should visit (and at the end to return to his home city), and a map, where there is a certain distance between any two towns. The salesman wants to minimize the total distance traveled. Definition 2 We say that the cost function defined on the edges satisfies a triangle inequality if for any three edges fu; vg, fu; wg and fv; wg in E it holds: c (fu; vg) + c (fv; wg) ≥ c (fu; wg) : In what follows we assume that the cost function c satisfies the triangle inequality. The main idea of the algorithm: Observe that removing an edge from the optimal travelling salesman tour leaves a path through all vertices, which contains a spanning tree. We have the following relations: cost(TSP) ≥ cost(Hamiltonian path without an edge) ≥ cost(MST) : 1Additional reading: Section 3 in the book of V.V. Vazirani \Approximation Algorithms". 1 Next, we describe how to build a travelling salesman path. Find a minimum spanning tree in the graph.
    [Show full text]
  • 7. NETWORK FLOW II ‣ Bipartite Matching ‣ Disjoint Paths
    Soviet rail network (1950s) "Free world" goal. Cut supplies (if cold war turns into real war). 7. NETWORK FLOW II ‣ bipartite matching ‣ disjoint paths ‣ extensions to max flow ‣ survey design ‣ airline scheduling ‣ image segmentation ‣ project selection Lecture slides by Kevin Wayne ‣ baseball elimination Copyright © 2005 Pearson-Addison Wesley http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~wayne/kleinberg-tardos Reference: On the history of the transportation and maximum flow problems. Alexander Schrijver in Math Programming, 91: 3, 2002. Last updated on Mar 31, 2013 3:25 PM Figure 2 2 From Harris and Ross [1955]: Schematic diagram of the railway network of the Western So- viet Union and Eastern European countries, with a maximum flow of value 163,000 tons from Russia to Eastern Europe, and a cut of capacity 163,000 tons indicated as ‘The bottleneck’. Max-flow and min-cut applications Max-flow and min-cut are widely applicable problem-solving model. ・Data mining. 7. NETWORK FLOW II ・Open-pit mining. ・Bipartite matching. ‣ bipartite matching ・Network reliability. ‣ disjoint paths ・Baseball elimination. ‣ extensions to max flow ・Image segmentation. ・Network connectivity. ‣ survey design liver and hepatic vascularization segmentation ・Distributed computing. ‣ airline scheduling ・Security of statistical data. ‣ image segmentation ・Egalitarian stable matching. ・Network intrusion detection. ‣ project selection ・Multi-camera scene reconstruction. ‣ baseball elimination ・Sensor placement for homeland security. ・Many, many, more. 3 Matching Bipartite matching Def. Given an undirected graph G = (V, E) a subset of edges M ⊆ E is Def. A graph G is bipartite if the nodes can be partitioned into two subsets a matching if each node appears in at most one edge in M.
    [Show full text]
  • Models for Networks with Consumable Resources: Applications to Smart Cities Hayato Montezuma Ushijima-Mwesigwa Clemson University, [email protected]
    Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 12-2018 Models for Networks with Consumable Resources: Applications to Smart Cities Hayato Montezuma Ushijima-Mwesigwa Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Recommended Citation Ushijima-Mwesigwa, Hayato Montezuma, "Models for Networks with Consumable Resources: Applications to Smart Cities" (2018). All Dissertations. 2284. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2284 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Models for Networks with Consumable Resources: Applications to Smart Cities A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Computer Science by Hayato Ushijima-Mwesigwa December 2018 Accepted by: Dr. Ilya Safro, Committee Chair Dr. Mashrur Chowdhury Dr. Brian Dean Dr. Feng Luo Abstract In this dissertation, we introduce different models for understanding and controlling the spreading dynamics of a network with a consumable resource. In particular, we consider a spreading process where a resource necessary for transit is partially consumed along the way while being refilled at special nodes on the network. Examples include fuel consumption of vehicles together with refueling stations, information loss during dissemination with error correcting nodes, consumption of ammunition of military troops while moving, and migration of wild animals in a network with a limited number of water-holes. We undertake this study from two different perspectives. First, we consider a network science perspective where we are interested in identifying the influential nodes, and estimating a nodes’ relative spreading influence in the network.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 9. Coping with NP-Completeness
    Chapter 9 Coping with NP-completeness You are the junior member of a seasoned project team. Your current task is to write code for solving a simple-looking problem involving graphs and numbers. What are you supposed to do? If you are very lucky, your problem will be among the half-dozen problems concerning graphs with weights (shortest path, minimum spanning tree, maximum flow, etc.), that we have solved in this book. Even if this is the case, recognizing such a problem in its natural habitat—grungy and obscured by reality and context—requires practice and skill. It is more likely that you will need to reduce your problem to one of these lucky ones—or to solve it using dynamic programming or linear programming. But chances are that nothing like this will happen. The world of search problems is a bleak landscape. There are a few spots of light—brilliant algorithmic ideas—each illuminating a small area around it (the problems that reduce to it; two of these areas, linear and dynamic programming, are in fact decently large). But the remaining vast expanse is pitch dark: NP- complete. What are you to do? You can start by proving that your problem is actually NP-complete. Often a proof by generalization (recall the discussion on page 270 and Exercise 8.10) is all that you need; and sometimes a simple reduction from 3SAT or ZOE is not too difficult to find. This sounds like a theoretical exercise, but, if carried out successfully, it does bring some tangible rewards: now your status in the team has been elevated, you are no longer the kid who can't do, and you have become the noble knight with the impossible quest.
    [Show full text]
  • CS 561, Lecture 24 Outline All-Pairs Shortest Paths Example
    Outline CS 561, Lecture 24 • All Pairs Shortest Paths Jared Saia • TSP Approximation Algorithm University of New Mexico 1 All-Pairs Shortest Paths Example • For the single-source shortest paths problem, we wanted to find the shortest path from a source vertex s to all the other vertices in the graph • We will now generalize this problem further to that of finding • For any vertex v, we have dist(v, v) = 0 and pred(v, v) = the shortest path from every possible source to every possible NULL destination • If the shortest path from u to v is only one edge long, then • In particular, for every pair of vertices u and v, we need to dist(u, v) = w(u → v) and pred(u, v) = u compute the following information: • If there’s no shortest path from u to v, then dist(u, v) = ∞ – dist(u, v) is the length of the shortest path (if any) from and pred(u, v) = NULL u to v – pred(u, v) is the second-to-last vertex (if any) on the short- est path (if any) from u to v 2 3 APSP Lots of Single Sources • The output of our shortest path algorithm will be a pair of |V | × |V | arrays encoding all |V |2 distances and predecessors. • Many maps contain such a distance matric - to find the • Most obvious solution to APSP is to just run SSSP algorithm distance from (say) Albuquerque to (say) Ruidoso, you look |V | times, once for every possible source vertex in the row labeled “Albuquerque” and the column labeled • Specifically, to fill in the subarray dist(s, ∗), we invoke either “Ruidoso” Dijkstra’s or Bellman-Ford starting at the source vertex s • In this class, we’ll focus
    [Show full text]
  • Structural Graph Theory Meets Algorithms: Covering And
    Structural Graph Theory Meets Algorithms: Covering and Connectivity Problems in Graphs Saeed Akhoondian Amiri Fakult¨atIV { Elektrotechnik und Informatik der Technischen Universit¨atBerlin zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doktor der Naturwissenschaften Dr. rer. nat. genehmigte Dissertation Promotionsausschuss: Vorsitzender: Prof. Dr. Rolf Niedermeier Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Stephan Kreutzer Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Marcin Pilipczuk Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Thilikos Tag der wissenschaftlichen Aussprache: 13. October 2017 Berlin 2017 2 This thesis is dedicated to my family, especially to my beautiful wife Atefe and my lovely son Shervin. 3 Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgementsv I. Introduction and Preliminaries1 1. Introduction2 1.0.1. General Techniques and Models......................3 1.1. Covering Problems.................................6 1.1.1. Covering Problems in Distributed Models: Case of Dominating Sets.6 1.1.2. Covering Problems in Directed Graphs: Finding Similar Patterns, the Case of Erd}os-P´osaproperty.......................9 1.2. Routing Problems in Directed Graphs...................... 11 1.2.1. Routing Problems............................. 11 1.2.2. Rerouting Problems............................ 12 1.3. Structure of the Thesis and Declaration of Authorship............. 14 2. Preliminaries and Notations 16 2.1. Basic Notations and Defnitions.......................... 16 2.1.1. Sets..................................... 16 2.1.2. Graphs................................... 16 2.2. Complexity Classes................................
    [Show full text]
  • Approximability Preserving Reduction Giorgio Ausiello, Vangelis Paschos
    Approximability preserving reduction Giorgio Ausiello, Vangelis Paschos To cite this version: Giorgio Ausiello, Vangelis Paschos. Approximability preserving reduction. 2005. hal-00958028 HAL Id: hal-00958028 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00958028 Preprint submitted on 11 Mar 2014 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Laboratoire d'Analyse et Modélisation de Systèmes pour l'Aide à la Décision CNRS UMR 7024 CAHIER DU LAMSADE 227 Septembre 2005 Approximability preserving reductions Giorgio AUSIELLO, Vangelis Th. PASCHOS Approximability preserving reductions∗ Giorgio Ausiello1 Vangelis Th. Paschos2 1 Dipartimento di Informatica e Sistemistica Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” [email protected] 2 LAMSADE, CNRS UMR 7024 and Université Paris-Dauphine [email protected] September 15, 2005 Abstract We present in this paper a “tour d’horizon” of the most important approximation-pre- serving reductions that have strongly influenced research about structure in approximability classes. 1 Introduction The technique of transforming a problem into another in such a way that the solution of the latter entails, somehow, the solution of the former, is a classical mathematical technique that has found wide application in computer science since the seminal works of Cook [10] and Karp [19] who introduced particular kinds of transformations (called reductions) with the aim of study- ing the computational complexity of combinatorial decision problems.
    [Show full text]
  • Admm for Multiaffine Constrained Optimization Wenbo Gao†, Donald
    ADMM FOR MULTIAFFINE CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION WENBO GAOy, DONALD GOLDFARBy, AND FRANK E. CURTISz Abstract. We propose an expansion of the scope of the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Specifically, we show that ADMM, when employed to solve problems with multiaffine constraints that satisfy certain easily verifiable assumptions, converges to the set of constrained stationary points if the penalty parameter in the augmented Lagrangian is sufficiently large. When the Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz (K-L)property holds, this is strengthened to convergence to a single con- strained stationary point. Our analysis applies under assumptions that we have endeavored to make as weak as possible. It applies to problems that involve nonconvex and/or nonsmooth objective terms, in addition to the multiaffine constraints that can involve multiple (three or more) blocks of variables. To illustrate the applicability of our results, we describe examples including nonnega- tive matrix factorization, sparse learning, risk parity portfolio selection, nonconvex formulations of convex problems, and neural network training. In each case, our ADMM approach encounters only subproblems that have closed-form solutions. 1. Introduction The alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is an iterative method that was initially proposed for solving linearly-constrained separable optimization problems having the form: ( inf f(x) + g(y) (P 0) x;y Ax + By − b = 0: The augmented Lagrangian L of the problem (P 0), for some penalty parameter ρ > 0, is defined to be ρ L(x; y; w) = f(x) + g(y) + hw; Ax + By − bi + kAx + By − bk2: 2 In iteration k, with the iterate (xk; yk; wk), ADMM takes the following steps: (1) Minimize L(x; yk; wk) with respect to x to obtain xk+1.
    [Show full text]
  • Approximation Algorithms
    Lecture 21 Approximation Algorithms 21.1 Overview Suppose we are given an NP-complete problem to solve. Even though (assuming P = NP) we 6 can’t hope for a polynomial-time algorithm that always gets the best solution, can we develop polynomial-time algorithms that always produce a “pretty good” solution? In this lecture we consider such approximation algorithms, for several important problems. Specific topics in this lecture include: 2-approximation for vertex cover via greedy matchings. • 2-approximation for vertex cover via LP rounding. • Greedy O(log n) approximation for set-cover. • Approximation algorithms for MAX-SAT. • 21.2 Introduction Suppose we are given a problem for which (perhaps because it is NP-complete) we can’t hope for a fast algorithm that always gets the best solution. Can we hope for a fast algorithm that guarantees to get at least a “pretty good” solution? E.g., can we guarantee to find a solution that’s within 10% of optimal? If not that, then how about within a factor of 2 of optimal? Or, anything non-trivial? As seen in the last two lectures, the class of NP-complete problems are all equivalent in the sense that a polynomial-time algorithm to solve any one of them would imply a polynomial-time algorithm to solve all of them (and, moreover, to solve any problem in NP). However, the difficulty of getting a good approximation to these problems varies quite a bit. In this lecture we will examine several important NP-complete problems and look at to what extent we can guarantee to get approximately optimal solutions, and by what algorithms.
    [Show full text]
  • Quantum Algorithms for Matching Problems
    Quantum Algorithms for Matching Problems Sebastian D¨orn Institut f¨urTheoretische Informatik, Universit¨atUlm, 89069 Ulm, Germany [email protected] Abstract. We present quantum algorithms for the following matching problems in unweighted and weighted graphs with n vertices and m edges: √ – Finding a maximal matching in general graphs in time O( nm log2 n). √ – Finding a maximum matching in general graphs in time O(n m log2 n). – Finding a maximum weight matching in bipartite graphs in time √ O(n mN log2 n), where N is the largest edge weight. – Finding a minimum weight perfect matching in bipartite graphs in √ time O(n nm log3 n). These results improve the best classical complexity bounds for the corre- sponding problems. In particular, the second result solves an open ques- tion stated in a paper by Ambainis and Spalekˇ [AS06]. 1 Introduction A matching in a graph is a set of edges such that for every vertex at most one edge of the matching is incident on the vertex. The task is to find a matching of maximum cardinality. The matching problem has many important applications in graph theory and computer science. In this paper we study the complexity of algorithms for the matching prob- lems on quantum computers and compare these to the best known classical algo- rithms. We will consider different versions of the matching problems, depending on whether the graph is bipartite or not and whether the graph is unweighted or weighted. For unweighted graphs, the best classical algorithm for finding a match- ing of maximum√ cardinality is based on augmenting paths and has running time O( nm) (see Micali and Vazirani [MV80]).
    [Show full text]
  • Network Flow - Theory and Applications with Practical Impact
    3 Network flow - Theory and applications with practical impact Masao Iri Department of Information and System Engineering Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112, Japan. Tel: +81-3-3817-1690. Fax: +81-3-3817-1681. e-mail: [email protected] Keywords Network flow, history, applications, duality, future 1 INTRODUCTION The research in this subject has now a long history and a large variety of related fields in science, engineering and operations research, and is still developing fast, especially in its algorithmic aspects, attracting many excellent senior as well as young researchers. And the space allotted to this paper is limited. So, in this paper I will not lay so much stress on particular frontiers of research in the subject as on the wider and historical viewpoint. Network-flow theory is one of the best studied and developed fields of optimization, and has important relations to quite different fields of science and technology such as com­ binatorial mathematics, algebraic topology, electric circuit theory, nonlinear continuum theory including plasticity theory, geographic information systems, VLSI design, etc., etc., besides standard applications to transportation, scheduling, etc. in operations research. An important point of view from which we should look at network flow theory is the "duality" viewpoint, to which due attention was paid at the earlier stages of development of the theory but which tends to be gradually ignored as time goes. Since the papers and books published on network flow are too many to cite here, I do not intend to compile even an incomplete list of references but only to cite a few which I directly mention and which I think tend to become obscured during the long history in spite of their ever lasting importance.
    [Show full text]
  • Inequity in Searching for Knowledge in Organizations
    The World is Not Small for Everyone: Inequity in Searching for Knowledge in Organizations _______________ Jasjit SINGH Morten HANSEN Joel PODOLNY 2010/11/ST/EFE (Revised version of 2009/49/ST/EFE) The World is Not Small for Everyone: Inequity in Searching for Knowledge in Organizations By Jasjit Singh * Morten T. Hansen** Joel M. Podolny*** ** February 2010 Revised version of INSEAD Working Paper 2009/49/ST/EFE * Assistant Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, 1 Ayer Rajah Avenue, Singapore 138676 Ph: +65 6799 5341 E-Mail: [email protected] ** Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD, Boulevard de Constance, Fontainebleau 77305 France Ph: + 33 (0) 1 60 72 40 20 E-Mail: [email protected] *** Professor at Apple University, 1 Infinite Loop, MS 301-4AU, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA Email: [email protected] A working paper in the INSEAD Working Paper Series is intended as a means whereby a faculty researcher's thoughts and findings may be communicated to interested readers. The paper should be considered preliminary in nature and may require revision. Printed at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France. Kindly do not reproduce or circulate without permission. ABSTRACT We explore why some employees may be at a disadvantage in searching for information in large complex organizations. The “small world” argument in social network theory emphasizes that people are on an average only a few connections away from the information they seek. However, we argue that such a network structure may benefit some people more than others. Specifically, some employees may have longer search paths in locating knowledge in an organization—their world may be large.
    [Show full text]