Testing a Theory of Group Growth and Decline

麦克弗森9308326 这项研究将测试一个理论，认为团体通过个人之间的社会网络联系，并通过团体之间的时间和社区中的人的其他资源的竞争，获得和失去成员。 此前的NSF拨款收集了10个社区1050名个人和254个团体的数据。 这个新项目将通过对群体水平数据的归纳编码和分析来测试群体水平假设，并将群体数据提供给公众。 该项目将大大扩大对 组织的增长和衰退的动力，对公司和志愿团体以及推进基本社会学理论有潜在的好处。 ***

9308326 McPherson This research will test a theory arguing that groups gain and lose members through the social network connections between individuals, and through competition between groups for the time and other resources of the people in the community. A previous NSF grant gathered data on 1050 individuals and 254 groups in 10 communities. This new project will test group level hypotheses through inductive coding and analysis of group level data, and it will make the group data available to the public. The project will significantly expand scientific understanding of the dynamics of growth and decline of organizations, with potential benefit for corporations and voluntary groups as well as advancing basic sociological theory. ***