SO36CH05-Uzzi ARI 2 June 2010 23:8 Dynamics of Dyads in Social Networks: Assortative, Relational, and Proximity Mechanisms Mark T. Rivera,1 Sara B. Soderstrom,1 and Brian Uzzi1,2 1Department of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208; email:
[email protected],
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[email protected] 2Northwestern University Institute on Complex Systems and Network Science (NICO), Evanston, Illinois 60208-4057 Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010. 36:91–115 Key Words First published online as a Review in Advance on Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:91-115. Downloaded from arjournals.annualreviews.org embeddedness, homophily, complexity, organizations, network April 12, 2010 evolution by NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY - Evanston Campus on 07/13/10. For personal use only. The Annual Review of Sociology is online at soc.annualreviews.org Abstract This article’s doi: Embeddedness in social networks is increasingly seen as a root cause of 10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134743 human achievement, social stratification, and actor behavior. In this arti- Copyright c 2010 by Annual Reviews. cle, we review sociological research that examines the processes through All rights reserved which dyadic ties form, persist, and dissolve. Three sociological mech- 0360-0572/10/0811-0091$20.00 anisms are overviewed: assortative mechanisms that draw attention to the role of actors’ attributes, relational mechanisms that emphasize the influence of existing relationships and network positions, and proximity mechanisms that focus on the social organization of interaction. 91 SO36CH05-Uzzi ARI 2 June 2010 23:8 INTRODUCTION This review examines journal articles that explain how social networks evolve over time.