Paper info: Is there a hierarchy among activities, resources, and actors in business networks? Exploring the relationship between the components of the ARA model
Title
Is there a hierarchy among activities, resources, and actors in business networks? Exploring the relationship between the components of the ARA model
Authors
Katarina Arbin, Johan Kask and
Frans Prenkert
Frans Prenkert
Orebro University
Sweden
Place of Publication
The paper was published at the 34th IMP-conference in Marseille, France in 2018.
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Abstract
In the original setup of the Actor-Resource-Activity (ARA) model, no one component is given precedence or greater significance than any of the other two as it assumes conceptual equality among the three. Nonetheless, this paper encounters an empirical context in which this assumption does not seem to hold true; is it, thus, possible that – in some specific empirical contexts – the relationship between the components of the ARA model change from being of equal conceptual character into a hierarchical-type of relationship? If so, is it possible to discern – contrary to the original conceptualization – a hierarchy among activities, resources and actors in the ARA model? The aim of this paper is to discuss and question the equality-assumption of the ARA model to enrich and complement our understanding of the relationship among its components. It shows that, at least in empirical contexts where resources are heavy and sitespecific, the relationships between the components changes and turns into a more hierarchical character. We support this claim with data from a two-year longitudinal case study (2015–2017) of a European transportation network.