Structural fold
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Structural folding is the network property of a cohesive group whose membership overlaps with that of another cohesive group.[1] The idea reaches back to Georg Simmel's argument that individuality itself might be the product of unique intersection of network circles.[2]
It has been proposed that successful firms often cluster together in cohesive groups, as dense ties among the group members reduce transaction cost by providing a basis for trust and coordination amongst the firms.[3][4] Cohesive ties also enable the firms to implement projects beyond their capacity and cushions them against great uncertainty [5]
However, another logic suggests that business groups might choose to forgo high density within the group in favour of maintaining some weaker ties to other firms outside the group. This way firms can reduce redundant ties and form long-distance links to other firms who can provide novel information to them.[6] This logic rests on the assumption that the conservatizing strategy of in-group cohesion is maladaptive as it risks locking the businesses into early success and strategies, which in the absence of new information can easily become detrimental in a rapidly changing business environment.
A third, different, strategy would be to combine the benefits of the previous two. Such solutions can be termed either “closure and brokerage” or “cohesion and connectivity” and the benefits of the complementarity of these distinctive network features is common to them, especially for entrepreneurship. Actors at structural folds are multiple insiders, benefiting from dense cohesive ties that provide familiarity with the operations of the members in their group. However, due to being part of more than one group they also have access to diverse information. This combination of familiarity and diversity facilitates innovation and creative success through recombining resources.[7]
Intercohesion
Intercohesion is a distinctive network structure built from intersecting cohesive groups. It rests on the theoretical principle that cohesive group structures are not necessarily exclusive, but network structures can actually be cohesive and overlapping.[7] This idea originates from Georg Simmel's who, in one of his works, argued that a person is often a member of more than one cohesive group in the same time, and these multiple group memberships are part of both individuation and social integration of the person.[2] Intercohesion thus refers to mutually interpenetrating, cohesive structures, while the resulting distinctive network position at the intersection is a structural fold.[7]