Cosmopolitan Networks in Commerce and Society 1660–1914

Networks in Economic and Business History
Fig. 2.2 Leader of elite social group endorses integrity of entrepreneur
relationships, so the leader of a social network, L, intermediates voluntary
non-profit activity. Participants in this activity form a bonding
network. According to Figure 2.3a, L introduces E to S within the
context of the bonding network, and as a result they both incur additional
obligations which then underpin their business relationship. In
the absence of intermediation by the bonding network the business
relationship would be impersonal, and sustained by remote communication.
Relations within the bonding network are, by contrast, personal
and face-to-face. To effect face-to-face communication, E and S
travel to meetings of the bonding network; at the first meeting they
are introduced by L, while at subsequent meetings L is on hand to
supply further support if necessary, for example, mediating in any
disputes between them. The return travel to the meeting is represented
by the thick grey line, which carries two arrows to indicate a
round trip.
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