Page - (000018) - in Knowledge and Networks

6 ple of different places and spaces has become an important research issue in social network analysis. But despite the growing literature in that field, one of the main criticisms concerning relational thinking is the reductionist, geometric focus on dis- tance. Geography is often treated only as a cost function of linear distance rather than as a matter of multifaceted and rich social context (Daraganova et al., 2012; Doreian & Conti, 2012). Beyond Disciplinary Silos: The Uncharted Interrelation of Learning, Knowledge, Relations, and Space Despite the potential of combining the relational and the geographical perspectives, there has long been unintended silence between the two fields in knowledge studies. Geography has endorsed the term network as a rich metaphor of social cohesion and cooperation rather than of formal structure (Grabher, 2006); network research has often ignored the spatial dimension of social networks and used regions merely as a convenient shell for the empirical analysis of interpersonal and interorganizational relations. Recently, however, scholars from various fields in the social sciences have realized that both dimensions—geography and relational thinking—are important for knowledge creation and learning (e.g., Doreian & Conti, 2012; Glückler, 2013). Gatherings such as the Capturing Context Conference (Columbia University, June 2009) and the International Workshop on Social Space and Geographic Space (University of Melbourne, September 2007) and a special issue of Social Networks in 2012 have brought together researchers interested in discussing new research questions and solutions at the intersection of the two fields (Adams, Faust, & Lovasi, 2012). Overall, the interdisciplinary study of knowledge creation and innovation at the junction of space and social networks has only emerged in recent years. A closer look at the recent literature that has included both spatial and network dimensions in the study of innovation suggests that networks, geography, and knowledge are conditionally related to each other. At least four linkages within this conceptual triangle have been studied empirically: (a) geography as a condition of network formation, (b) geography as a moderator of the effects of network on knowledge, (c) networks as a moderator and (d) networks as a mediator2 of the effects that geogra- phy has on knowledge. With the “agentic turn” (Kilduff & Brass, 2010, p. 336) and an expanding perspective on multilevel networks, a fifth linkage emerges, (e) agency as a moderator of “places” in multilevel relationships on collective learning. We briefly summarize some of the insights of these studies in order to identify the uncharted interrelation of knowledge, networks, and space.3 2 A moderator variable governs (e.g., increases or decreases) the strength of a relationship between two other variables, whereas a mediator variable explains the relationship between two other vari- ables (Baron & Kenny, 1986). 3 The following discussion on the interrelation of geography and network studies is based on Glückler (2013). J. Glückler et al.