Preferential Linkage and Network Evolution: A Conceptual Model and Empirical Test in the U.S. Video Game Sector

Abstract

We examined how network structure (density overlap and embeddedness) and technology characteristics of a platform (dominance and newness) shaped interorganizational coordination of product launches in the U.S. video game industry. We found that the developers' choices to launch games for particular game consoles were significantly explained by these four factors using multiprobability regression on a primary data set of 2,815 launches between 1995 and 2002. This analysis was complemented with application of a network visualization technique.