Social network analysis in innovation research: using a mixed methods approach to analyze social innovations – European Journal of Futures Research

Empirical results were visualized drawing back on UCINET, Netdraw, and Pajek in order to provide a comprehensive foundation for stakeholders [14, 15]. Top-down visualizations of network data were used to generate courses of action, guidance, and network management strategies with the persons involved in the process. Thus, network visualizations and empirical insights enabled stakeholders to detect weaknesses related to structural issues, information flows, and communication problems.

In order to visualize the networks, directional relations between network members were entered into UCINET and mapped with Netdraw. The iterative method of “spring embedding” was chosen for the graph-theoretic layout, because it supports neat illustrations of data sets. Thus, the lengths of the ties do not have information content. The nodes in network visualizations represent persons engaged in implementing ESD in their municipalities. Against the backdrop of the definition of network boundaries, persons that are represented by nodes with only one ingoing link and no outgoing link were not interviewed.

To give an example, one surprising result was the low level of cooperation beyond municipal borders, as measured by network connections, as seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Trans-regional ESD network, generated with the graph theoretical layout spring embedding, source: Author’s data

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In contrast to Manuel Castells [16], who observed a diminishing relevance of space due to the information age, the present study finds that space remains a constraint for diffusion of ESD. It seems much easier to establish the social innovation ESD in the local context with dense network structures and to subsequently foster its diffusion through weak ties [17, 18].

Furthermore, municipal stakeholders were confronted with the unexpected existence of many structural holes and brokerage positions. The concepts “brokerage” and “structural hole” refer to actors’ structural embeddedness. A person who maintains connections with people, who do themselves not become interconnected, has the ability to mediate between these contacts and to obtain benefits from his brokerage position [19–21]. At the same time, structural holes impede innovation processes and information flows.

Figures 2 and 3 take Erfurt and Gelsenkirchen as examples and show relations regarding to the question of who is contacted to develop new ideas related to ESD. Only those relationships with a contact frequency of at least once a month are represented in this figure. The ESD network of Erfurt is chosen as an extreme example, because the structure of its social network exhibits the highest number of structural holes.

Fig. 2

Cooperation in the development of new ideas in Erfurt, source: Author’s data

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Fig. 3

Cooperation in the development of new ideas in Gelsenkirchen, source: Author’s data

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There are only a few network members engaged in developing new ideas with respect to ESD in Erfurt; many structural holes shape the ESD network.

In contrast, cooperation in the development of new ideas related to ESD works very well in Gelsenkirchen, as seen in Fig. 3.

Figure 3 presents productive relationships in Gelsenkirchen. Gelsenkirchen was chosen as an example here because it demonstrates a nearly perfect cooperation basis, which is very supportive for successful innovation processes. Such results can be used by involved actors in order to disclose strengths and weaknesses and reveal where and how structural conditions enable innovations and development processes.

The network visualizations shown so far are mainly reduced to structural information. Network visualizations can also integrate further actor-related information. Not least, structural characteristics of social networks, processes of innovation, idea exchange, and trust also depend on the areas of activity to which network members belong. Thus, Fig. 4 integrates some actor-specific information. Nodes represent those people who are actively engaged in the field of ESD in Alheim. The color of the nodes indicates the sector in which the relevant person deals with ESD. The size of the nodes correlates with the individual centrality index. Centrality is measured by the frequency of the responses—the indegree [1, 22]. The more often a person was identified by others, the more central she appears in the picture. The thickness of the connections varies depending on its individual clustering value. While there are two different measures (global and local) for clustering, the local version was used to give an indication of the embeddedness of single nodes [23]. Thus, clustering is defined as the number of common acquaintances; the thickness of the arrow connecting two nodes points to the number of triangular connections.

Fig. 4

ESD network in Alheim; color of the nodes according to the area of activity (blue black: non-formal education, red: administration/policy, yellow: NGOs, green: economy, light blue: formal education, orange: church, grey: other areas), numbers indicate the IDs of individuals, illustration in cooperation with fas.research, source: Author’s data

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Figure 4 indicates the central role that people in the field of non-formal education play in Alheim, as measured by how often they were named by other people. Another central position is held by someone in government. The big red node has many incoming and outgoing links, but few triangle relations and thus a low clustering value. Further comparative quantitative studies reveal that despite its high density value, there is little clustering in Alheim. Certainly, the clustering value always depends on the data collection process, but as the study for this article has used the same methodological approach for all five municipal networks, it is possible to compare the municipal clustering values. However, the low clustering value in Alheim is because cooperation beyond institutional borders works very well in this municipality and persons are not always connected to the same partners. The fear expressed by other municipalities, that ESD in Alheim would be dominated by powerful politicians, cannot be confirmed from these results.

In general, quantitative SNA is able to highlight network boundaries and structural characteristics of social networks that are important to understand innovation potential and impediments. It is difficult or even impossible, however, to reveal the causes, motivations, ideas, or perceptions that lie behind such network structures by solely drawing back on quantitative SNA. How, for example, can we explain the central role of one politician in Alheim, while there are many other central persons from non-formal education? What role does this central politician play for the clustering value in Alheim? In order to answer these questions, the study had to draw on further qualitative social network research methods. The researchers thus used a combination of egocentric network maps and semi-structured interviews.

Egocentric network maps are more individual-oriented than quantitative SNA methods. One benefit of network map visualizations lies in their potential for mental or cognitive support. Such visualizations are able to promote subjective validations of interview narratives as well as to highlight subjective perceptions, reasons, motivations, and network dynamics. The technique of structured and standardized network maps, which has often been described as the “method of concentric circles” [24], was chosen for this study [25]. Here, network maps are not only aids, but a main purpose of the survey. A sheet with four concentric circles is given to the interviewee. The inner circle represents the ego, that is to say the interviewee. Interviewees are then asked to draw the initials of people important to them personally, differentiated by the degree of emotional proximity or contact frequency. The three circles around the ego represent the emotional closeness or formal distance with respect to her or his alters (or connections). The closer to the ego, the tighter a contact person is perceived by the interviewee. In addition, the circles are divided in parts through lines; each part represents a different area of activity. In this way, interviewees can dedicate their contacts to specific areas of activity, such as civil society, formal education, non-formal education, business or government. The space around ego is structured by both concentric circles that illustrate the closeness of the alters to ego and the area of activity in which alters are engaged for ESD. An essential advantage of the structured and standardized instruments in relation to unstructured techniques lies in the comparability between different network cards (both intrapersonal and interpersonal).

At the same time, the high degree of structuring and standardization constrains the significance of the data obtained. Indications beyond the pre-fixed circles are only possible if interviewers get the opportunity to pose further questions or if interviewees are encouraged to further discuss issues that are not explicitly part of the visualization process. In order to combine both standardization and openness, this study enabled the interviewers to pose further important questions and explore relevant information related to the research aims. The application of egocentric network maps also served as a medium through which interviewees talked about their relationships. In this sense, network maps were integrated into semi-structured interviews in order to generate narratives and disclose relevant relationships and action orientation. In addition, interviewees had the opportunity to choose the categories representing different areas of activity as well as the colors for the visualizations. Thus, the technique implemented in the study supported the comparability of the cases, but it was also open for new variables and dimensions related to the specific context.

Altogether 25 network maps and interviews, five in every municipality, were generated. Interviewees were chosen according to their area of activity (to obtain a variance of the cases), their position within the social network, and their centrality indexes. To give an example, Fig. 5 presents the network map of a central politician in Alheim. This network map of Alheim is also chosen to further illustrate the case of Alheim, which was also depicted in Fig. 4. Furthermore, this ESD actor in Alheim possesses a high centrality value according to quantitative SNA.

Fig. 5

Network Map of a central politician in Alheim, anonymized, source: Author’s data

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As Fig. 5 shows, the interviewee mainly distinguishes five areas of activity: civil society, educational institutions, government/administration, business, and persons from trans-regional contexts. In some cases, the politician just wrote down an organization. During the interview, he referred to concrete persons from these organizations. Surprisingly, the sector of government/administration, to which the interviewee himself belongs, is empty: no persons or organizations are indicated. This is also reflected in the visualization based on quantitative network data (Fig. 4), where only one individual from government plays a central role. In a sense, qualitative studies validate quantitative results by showing that the social innovation ESD in Alheim is mainly implemented by actors from non-formal education. At the same time, qualitative results stress that the topic is supported and disseminated by one central politician who bridges structural holes between different sectors. Furthermore, school actors are not represented in the network map, whereas the closest contact persons are from civil society, educational institutions, and business. The great variety of close contact persons from different sectors can be regarded as one reason for the success of the social innovation in Alheim. The central politician in Alheim himself mentions this as playing a significant role. Further actors within the community stress that the ideological foundation and the adoption of ESD would not be possible without this politician. Hence, the establishment of ESD in Alheim can also be traced back to its structural and discursive power and the general trust of ESD actors in this well-connected politician.

The central role of the interviewee in Alheim can be ascribed to the fact that he bridges institutional clusters, supports cooperation beyond government/administration, and combines close cooperation with weak ties in the field of ESD. Furthermore, centrality is not reduced to one person or one sector. Instead, actors from different sectors play a central role in the field of ESD and cooperation between state and non-state actors is very high. In this way, it was possible to develop and realize aims in the area of political accountability in a short space of time. The dense network structure, supported by strong relations between one central politician and actors from other sectors, resulted in the elaboration of an innovative educational plan, composed according to the principles of ESD. At the same time, future strategies should focus on integrating actors from other important areas such as schools. In addition, strategies that foster trans-regional cooperation would be helpful with the diffusion of ESD.

With respect to some of the municipalities, a future strategy that fosters greater participation of stakeholders from other areas of activity, as required by the UN’s International Implementation Scheme (IIS) and the National Action Plan of the UN Decade may be helpful in promoting the implementation and diffusion of the social innovation ESD. Business actors and teachers, in particular, complain about not being sufficiently integrated into ESD networks and that the same people always take control and create turf wars. Furthermore, a lack of transparency and information exchange on existing ESD projects was seen. Business actors in these municipalities faced biases from other actors concerned that they ignored ecological and social dimensions of sustainable development. In some municipalities, ESD is mainly concentrated on environmental topics and many ESD actors express reservations about business aims. However, if different sectors are not integrated, it’s difficult to achieve a balance between ecological, economic, and social dimensions, as it has been proclaimed by the concept of sustainable development as such.