Understanding the Role of Innovation Actors’ Social Network in the Digital Age: A Literature Review and Avenues for Future Research

Abstract

Digital technologies have radically altered the nature of innovation and its development process. Innovations in the digital age are characterized by a reliance on a network of diverse actors who champion innovation. Despite the important role of these innovation actors’ social networks in enabling interactions and collaboration for developing innovation, extant research lacks a synthesis of knowledge on innovation actors’ social networks in the digital age. We provide a multidisciplinary literature review on the social network of actors championing innovation and its interplay with digital technology based on a theoretical framework derived from social network research. Our analysis gives insights into the flows and structure of innovation actors’ social networks. We find that digital technology has predominantly led to gradual changes in innovation actors’ activities by functioning as a catalyst. Concerning the characteristics of innovation actors’ networks, we find more fundamental changes in the agency of digital innovation as innovation actors form communities and perform activities collectively. Building on the literature on digital technology and digital innovation, we identify promising avenues for future research. Overall, our literature review contributes by proposing a new conceptual model of innovation actors’ social networks in the digital age and providing an agenda for future research.