Why are corporate elites interconnected by cohesive networks in some countries, and not in others? Cross-national and transnational analysis of corporate elite networks in Latin America
Final Report Abstract
The study of business (or coporate) elites is a trend nowadays and the present research project contributed to that. After the 2008 financial crisis, the dramatic increase in inequality and the emergence of anti-establishment social movements, the interest to analyze business elites has re-emerged in academia, media and civil organizations. Whereas it is well documented the concentration of wealth in the hands of the top 0.1% of the population, there are several concerns on business elites. Business magazines annually publish exhaustive rankings of the top firms and their directors, corporate performance and the net worth of billionaire families. But, understanding corporate elites means not just making sense of who they are and which resources they control, it also means considering how they are internally organized or interconnected. The internal organization or interconnection among corporate elites is denominated corporate elite network. The corporate elite network is formed by relationships among elite members (directors and owners) and constitute a map of economic power structures. Uncovering and analyzing business (or corporate) elite networks is a major concern of social sciences due to the repercussion of these structures on politics and social issues. Latin America is an excellent field of study to address many of these concerns about elites. It is a region with enormous changes and contradictions: economic growth in the last decade but high social inequality, incipient social movements together with a turn towards right-wing governments, democratic regimes in coexistence with a central role of military forces, extractive development policies mixed with sustainable development discourses. The present project evidenced: the lack of a transnational Latin American business elite, the varieties of corporate elite networks in Latin America, the prominent relevance of state–business relations and economic internationalization to explain the different forms of corporate elite networks, and the emergence of supra-business groups that join several family business groups. In addition to these findings, research conducted allows exploring the consequences of corporate elite network in two macro-level issues: state capture and income inequality. Future research projects should go in-depth in the impacts of corporate elite networks. This research project became a means to encourage other studies on elites in Latin America and raise awareness of the relevance of elite research. A research network was created to connect scholars and practitioners from all over the world interested in the analysis of Latin American elites: http://redelites.networksprovidehappiness.com.
Publications
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(2015) “Are Latin America's corporate elites transnationally interconnected? A network analysis of interlocking directorates”. Global Networks 15 (4): 424 – 445
Cárdenas, Julián
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(2016) Enredando a las elites empresariales en América Latina: análisis de redes de interlocking directorates y propiedad en México, Chile, Perú y Brasil [Interweaving business elites in Latin America: network analysis of interlocking directorates and ownership ties in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brazil] América Latina Hoy 73: 15 – 44
Cárdenas, Julián
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(2016) Network analysis: definition, origins, growth and future. Pensando Psciología 12 (19)
Cárdenas, Julián (ed.)
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(2016) Why do corporate elites form cohesive networks in some countries, and do not in others? Cross-national analysis of corporate elite networks in Latin America. International Sociology 31 (3): 341 – 363
Cárdenas, Julián
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(2017) Las redes de la elite académica de la Sociología [The Academic Elite Network of Sociology] Revista Española de Sociología (RES) 26 (1): 68-84
Cárdenas, Julián
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(2017) Networking online para conocimiento en Sociología. Análisis de las redes de blogs, vídeos de Youtube y comentarios en Twitter sobre Sociología. [Online networking for knowledge in Sociology: network analysis of blog, Youtube videos and tweets on Sociology] Teknokultura 14(1): 121-142
Cárdenas, Julián
