Abstract
In this study, we investigate interfirm networks by employing a unique data set containing information on more than 800,000 Japanese firms, about half of all corporate firms currently operating in Japan. First, we find that the number of relationships, measured by the indegree, has a fat-tail distribution, implying that there exist "hub" firms with a large number of relationships. Moreover, the indegree distribution for those hub firms also exhibits a fat tail, suggesting the existence of "super-hub" firms. Second, we find that larger firms tend to have more counterparts, but the relationship between firms' size and the number of their counterparts is not necessarily proportional; firms that already have a large number of counterparts tend to grow without proportionately expanding it.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 158-163 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications |
Volume | 383 |
Issue number | 1 SPEC. ISS. |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2007 Sept 1 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Fat-tail distributions
- Firm size
- Hub firms
- Interfirm relationships
- Network structure
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Statistics and Probability
- Condensed Matter Physics