@article{nokey,

title = {Can social capital remedy structural inequality? Economic mobility in a longitudinal population-scale social network},

author = {Yuliia Kazmina and Eelke M Heemskerk and Emilia van der Kooij and Eszter BokĂnyi and Frank W Takes

},

doi = { https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2508.05275},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-08-07},

urldate = {2025-08-07},

journal = {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.05275},

abstract = {The promise of equal opportunity is a cornerstone of modern societies, yet upward economic mobility remains out of reach for many. Using a decade of population-scale social network data from the Netherlands, covering over a billion family, school, workplace, and neighborhood ties, we examine how structural inequality and social capital jointly shape economic trajectories. Parental background is a strong early predictor of economic outcomes, but its influence fades over time. In contrast, bridging social capital is what positively predicts long-term mobility, particularly for economically disadvantaged groups. Reducing the dimensionality of an individual's network composition, we identify two key dimensions: exposure to affluent contacts and socioeconomic diversity of one's network. These are sufficient to capture the core aspects of social capital that matter for economic mobility. Overall, our findings demonstrate that while inherited advantage shapes the starting point of economic trajectory, social capital can powerfully reshape it, especially for the poor.

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Freshness, Persistence and Success of Scientific Teams},

author = {Hanjo D Boekhout and Eelke M Heemskerk and Niccolò Pisani and Frank W Takes

},

doi = { https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2507.12255},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-07-16},

urldate = {2025-07-16},

journal = {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.12255},

abstract = {Team science dominates scientific knowledge production, but what makes academic teams successful? Using temporal data on 25.2 million publications and 31.8 million authors, we propose a novel network-driven approach to identify and study the success of persistent teams. Challenging the idea that persistence alone drives success, we find that team freshness - new collaborations built on prior experience - is key to success. High impact research tends to emerge early in a team's lifespan. Analyzing complex team overlap, we find that teams open to new collaborative ties consistently produce better science. Specifically, team re-combinations that introduce new freshness impulses sustain success, while persistence impulses from experienced teams are linked to earlier impact. Together, freshness and persistence shape team success across collaboration stages.

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Connectivity and community structure of online and register-based social networks},

author = {Márton Menyhért and Eszter Bokányi and Rense Corten and Eelke M Heemskerk and Yuliia Kazmina and Frank W Takes

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds/s13688-025-00522-4},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-28},

urldate = {2025-01-28},

journal = {EPJ Data Science},

abstract = {The dominance of online social media data as a source for large-scale social network studies has recently been challenged by networks constructed from state-curated register data. In this paper focused on the cross-comparison of the network structures, we investigate the similarities and differences of the Dutch online social network (OSN) Hyves and a register-based social network (RSN) of the Netherlands. First and foremost, we find that node metrics and the connectivity of the two population-scale networks are similar, with more long-distance ties captured by the OSN, and with the OSN ties proving to be predictive of RSN ties. These results hold when correcting for population size and geographical distance, notwithstanding that these two factors appear to be the main drivers of connectivity. Second, we show using multiple algorithms that the community structure of the two networks is similar and that neither follows strict administrative geographical delineations (e.g., provinces). Instead, communities appear to either center around large metropolitan areas or, outside of the country’s most urbanized area, comprise large blocks of interdependent municipalities. Beyond population and distance-related patterns, communities also highlight the persistence of deeply rooted sociocultural communities such as the Dutch Bible belt. The findings presented in this work aid in interpreting results from future studies in which register-based social networks are used to obtain insights into the social network structure of an entire population.



},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {China's Rise as Global Scientific Powerhouse: A Trajectory of International Collaboration and Specialization in High-Impact Research},

author = {Niccolò Pisani and Hanjo D Boekhout and Eelke M Heemskerk and Frank W Takes

},

doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5014244},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-11-07},

urldate = {2024-11-07},

journal = {Available at SSRN 5014244},

abstract = {The recent and rapid ascent of China into today’s scientific powerhouse is increasingly debated in circles of economic politics and policy making. Yet, we still know relatively little about China’s appetite for opening its knowledge production to international collaborations. Nor do we understand how the choices that Chinese scientists make in working in international teams (or not) relate to its recent scientific success. In this study, leveraging a unique, well-curated database of over 25 million scientific publications from 2008 until 2020, we investigate (1) how collaboration of Chinese-based researchers with scientists from other countries has materialized; (2) how competition in producing high-impact research has evolved for China, especially vis-à-vis the United States, in the global production of science; and (3) how specialization in well-defined fields has characterized China’s ascent in science. The findings of our analysis show that China’s rise as a leading player in global science has critically built on opening its knowledge production to international collaboration. This has been paired with a remarkable focus on high-impact research. Recently, China has entirely closed the gap with the US in terms of contribution to the global top 1% high-impact scientific production, specializing in four key fields—engineering/electrical/electronic, materials science, physics, and chemistry. Our study sheds new light on the changing geographical landscape of science. Inconsistent with the dominant pro-isolation narrative, we register a strategically precise opening of scientific production by China, which has resulted into higher levels of dependence of reputable scientific countries on China. China’s scientific global powerhouse is not just successful but also structurally well positioned in the international network of knowledge production to further continue its rise at the relative expense of, among others, the United States and Western Europe.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Socio-economic segregation in a population-scale social network},

author = {Yuliia Kazmina and Eelke M Heemskerk and Eszter Bokanyi and Frank W Takes

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2024.02.005},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-07-01},

urldate = {2024-07-01},

journal = {Social Networks},

volume = {78},

pages = {279-291},

abstract = {We propose a social network-aware approach to study socio-economic segregation. The key question that we address is whether patterns of segregation are more pronounced in social networks than in the common spatial neighborhood-focused manifestations of segregation. We, therefore, conduct a population-scale social network analysis to study socio-economic segregation at a comprehensive and highly granular social network level. For this, we utilize social network data from Statistics Netherlands on 17.2 million registered residents of the Netherlands that are connected through around 1.3 billion ties distributed over five distinct tie types. We take income assortativity as a measure of socio-economic segregation, compare a social network and spatial neighborhood approach, and find that the social network structure exhibits two times as much segregation. As such, this work complements the spatial perspective on segregation in both literature and policymaking. While at a widely used unit of spatial aggregation (e.g., the geographical neighborhood), patterns of socio-economic segregation may appear relatively minimal, they may in fact persist in the underlying social network structure. Furthermore, we discover higher social network segregation in larger cities, shedding a different light on the common view of cities as hubs for diverse socio-economic mixing. A population-scale social network perspective hence offers a way to uncover hitherto “hidden” segregation that extends beyond spatial neighborhoods and infiltrates multiple aspects of human life.

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {The anatomy of a population-scale social network},

author = {Eszter Bokányi and Eelke M Heemskerk and Frank W Takes

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36324-9},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-06-06},

urldate = {2023-06-06},

journal = {Scientific Reports},

volume = {13},

issue = {1},

pages = {9209},

abstract = {Large-scale human social network structure is typically inferred from digital trace samples of online social media platforms or mobile communication data. Instead, here we investigate the social network structure of a complete population, where people are connected by high-quality links sourced from administrative registers of family, household, work, school, and next-door neighbors. We examine this multilayer social opportunity structure through three common concepts in network analysis: degree, closure, and distance. Findings present how particular network layers contribute to presumably universal scale-free and small-world properties of networks. Furthermore, we suggest a novel measure of excess closure and apply this in a life-course perspective to show how the social opportunity structure of individuals varies along age, socio-economic status, and education level.

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Mandate Ownership: power concentration and second-order agency conflict in the age of passive asset management.},

author = {Eelke M Heemskerk and Jeroen Veldman and Jan Fichtner

},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-12-09},

urldate = {2022-12-09},

journal = {SSRN 4015828},

abstract = {The rise of passive investing is leading to a new reality of horizontal ownership in combination with a reconcentration of corporate control, notably at the Big Three passive asset managers BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard. We introduce the concept of mandate ownership and point to a process of double decoupling in which the Big Three retain the elements of shareholding most relevant to corporate control, while leaving the entitlement owners with the risks. We subsequently show how the market for corporate influence is the relevant arena for the exercise of power in corporate governance. This results in a second-order agency conflict between unaccountable asset managers who exercise considerable power over corporations and dispersed entitlement owners with no power of oversight of control. The limited recognition of mandate ownership in theory and in regulation creates an opportunity for rent-seeking activities and the accumulation of power over corporations by mandate owners.



},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Proximity at a distance: The relationship between foreign subsidiary co-location and MNC headquarters board interlock formation},

author = {Filip De Beule and Stefano Elia and Javier Garcia-Bernardo and Eelke M Heemskerk and Andreja Jaklič and Frank W Takes and Michal Zdziarski

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101971},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-08-01},

urldate = {2022-08-01},

journal = {International Business Review},

volume = {31},

issue = {4},

pages = {101971},

abstract = {Corporations seek various relationships, such as board interlocks, with other firms to reduce resource dependencies. The consistent theoretical expectation and empirical finding that physical proximity is an important driver for board interlock formation is seemingly at odds with the emerging and growing literature on transnational board interlock ties. We argue that the effect of proximity on multinational corporation (MNC) board interlock formation can also be attributed to the firms’ internationalization strategy, namely, when they have co-located subsidiaries in foreign markets. We call this “proximity at a distance”. We test our assumptions on a dataset covering almost 43,000 board interlocks among MNC headquarters and their 12 million subsidiary co-location pairs. We confirm that proximity among headquarters increases the odds of interlocking but also find robust evidence that co-located subsidiaries also increase firms’ propensity to interlock, particularly for transnational board interlocks. Our results help provide an explanation for the “paradox of distance” by showing that the interlock between two distant MNCs may be driven by proximity to their foreign subsidiaries. As such, we illustrate how MNCs’ resource-dependent strategic responses can occur at the headquarters level to address uncertainties experienced at the subsidiary level.

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Community membership consistency applied to corporate board interlock networks},

author = {Dafne E van Kuppevelt and Rena Bakhshi and Eelke M Heemskerk and Frank W Takes

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-021-00145-5},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-05-01},

urldate = {2022-05-01},

journal = {Journal of Computational Social Science},

volume = {5},

issue = {1},

pages = {841-860},

abstract = {Community detection is a well-established method for studying the meso-scale structure of social networks. Applying a community detection algorithm results in a division of a network into communities that is often used to inspect and reason about community membership of specific nodes. This micro-level interpretation step of community structure is a crucial step in typical social science research. However, the methodological caveat in this step is that virtually all modern community detection methods are non-deterministic and based on randomization and approximated results. This needs to be explicitly taken into consideration when reasoning about community membership of individual nodes. To do so, we propose a metric of community membership consistency, that provides node-level insights in how reliable the placement of that node into a community really is. In addition, it enables us to distinguish the community core members of a community. The usefulness of the proposed metrics is demonstrated on corporate board interlock networks, in which weighted links represent shared senior level directors between firms. Results suggest that the community structure of global business groups is centered around persistent communities consisting of core countries tied by geographical and cultural proximity. In addition, we identify fringe countries that appear to associate with a number of different global business communities.



},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Beaten paths towards the transnational corporate elite},

author = {Diliara Valeeva and Frank W Takes and Eelke M Heemskerk

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1177/026858092110516},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-01-01},

urldate = {2022-01-01},

journal = {International Sociology},

volume = {37},

issue = {1},

pages = {97-123},

abstract = {The transnationalization of economic activities has fundamentally altered the world. One of the consequences that has intrigued scholars is the formation of a transnational corporate elite. While the literature tends to focus on the topology of the transnational board interlock network, little is known about its driving mechanisms. This article asks the question: what are the trajectories that corporate elites follow in driving the expansion of this network? To answer this, the authors employ a novel approach that models the transnationalization of elites using their board appointment sequences. The findings show that there are six transnationalization trajectories corporate elites follow to expand the network. The authors argue that while the transnational elite network appears as a global social structure, its generating mechanisms are regionally organized. This corroborates earlier findings on the fragmentation of the global network of corporate control, but also provides insights into how this network was shaped over time.

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Community membership consistency applied to corporate board interlock networks},

author = {Dafne E. van Kuppevelt and Rena Bakhshi and Eelke M. Heemskerk and Frank W. Takes},

doi = { https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2008.00745},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-10-20},

urldate = {2021-10-20},

journal = {Journal of Computational Social Science},

abstract = {Community detection is a well established method for studying the meso scale structure of social networks. Applying a community detection algorithm results in a division of a network into communities that is often used to inspect and reason about community membership of specific nodes. This micro level interpretation step of community structure is a crucial step in typical social science research. However, the methodological caveat in this step is that virtually all modern community detection methods are non-deterministic and based on randomization and approximated results. This needs to be explicitly taken into consideration when reasoning about community membership of individual nodes. To do so, we propose a metric of community membership consistency, that provides node-level insights in how reliable the placement of that node into a community really is. In addition, it enables us to distinguish the community core members of a community. The usefulness of the proposed metrics is demonstrated on corporate board interlock networks, in which weighted links represent shared senior level directors between firms. Results suggest that the community structure of global business groups is centered around persistent communities consisting of core countries tied by geographical and cultural proximity. In addition, we identify fringe countries that appear to associate with a number of different global business communities.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Delineating the corporate elite: Inquiring the boundaries and composition of interlocking directorate networks},

author = {M Jouke Huijzer and Eelke M Heemskerk

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12316},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-10-01},

urldate = {2021-10-01},

journal = {Global networks},

volume = {21},

issue = {4},

pages = {791-820},

abstract = {Corporate elite studies have for long investigated networks of interlocking directorates to test and corroborate key theoretical expectations regarding the cohesive organization of such an elite and their ability and willingness to act on behalf of general business interests. These studies typically collect data on a list of 50, 100, 200 or 500 corporations ranked by economic size, sometimes stratified in sectors. The sampling approach often follows previous studies in order to increase comparability. These relatively arbitrary sampling practices are problematic because they impact the empirical results and our therefore the conclusions drawn from it. Using a sample of 3251 Canada-based corporations, we establish that indeed different sampling criteria – that is sample size, proportion of financial firms, inclusion of state-owned enterprises and so on – significantly impacts network properties of corporate elite networks. We establish rather disturbing differences, especially for smaller sample sizes (<100). Subsequently, we develop alternative demarcation criteria of the corporate elite based on a k-core decomposition. We conclude by emphasizing that the sampling decisions in interlocking directorate studies should much more be carefully be thought through in future research on the topic, both in corporate elite studies and beyond.



},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {The wealth defence industry: A large-scale study on accountancy firms as profit shifting facilitators},

author = {Lena Ajdacic and Eelke M Heemskerk and Javier Garcia-Bernardo

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2020.1816947},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-07-04},

urldate = {2021-07-04},

journal = {New Political Economy},

volume = {26},

issue = {4},

pages = {690-706},

abstract = {Corporations increasingly engage in innovative ‘tax planning strategies’ by shifting profits between jurisdictions. In response, states try to curtail such profit shifting activities while at the same time attempting to retain and attract multinational corporations. We aim to open up this dichotomy between states and corporations and argue that a wealth defence industry of professional service firms plays a crucial role as facilitators. We investigate the subsidiary structure of 27,000 MNCs and show that clients of the Big Four accountancy firms show systematically higher levels of aggressive tax planning strategies than clients of smaller accountancy firms. We specify this effect for three distinct strategies and also uncover marked differences across countries. As such we provide empirical evidence for the systematic involvement of auditors as facilitators in corporate wealth defence.

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Steering capital: The growing private authority of index providers in the age of passive asset management},

author = {Johannes Petry and Jan Fichtner and Eelke Heemskerk},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2019.1699147},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-02-01},

urldate = {2021-02-01},

journal = {Review of international political economy},

volume = {28},

issue = {1},

pages = {152-176},

abstract = {Since the global financial crisis, there is a massive shift of assets towards index funds. Rather than picking stocks, index funds replicate stock indices such as the S&P 500. But where do these indices actually come from? This paper analyzes the politico-economic role of index providers, a small group of highly profitable firms including MSCI, S&P DJI, and FTSE Russell, and develops a research agenda from an IPE perspective. We argue that these index providers have become actors that exercise growing private authority as they steer investments through the indices they create and maintain. While technical expertise is a precondition, their brand is the primary source of index provider authority, which is entrenched through network externalities. Rather than a purely technical exercise, constructing indices is inherently political. Which companies or countries are included into an index or excluded (i.e. receive …

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {The new permanent universal owners: Index funds, patient capital, and the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship},

author = {Jan Fichtner and Eelke M Heemskerk},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2020.1781417},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-10-01},

urldate = {2020-10-01},

journal = {Economy and society},

volume = {49},

issue = {4},

pages = {493-515},

abstract = {Fundamental change is happening in global finance – the shift from active management to index funds. This money mass-migration into index funds has far-reaching socio-economic consequences, as it has the potential to transform the nature of shareholder capitalism. We call BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street the ‘New Permanent Universal Owners’ that are invested indefinitely in thousands of firms. We provide novel findings on the combined ownership of the Big Three in European countries and Japan and investigate how this signals a shift away from the shareholder capitalism that has been dominant for the past three decades. We discuss the future role(s) of the New Permanent Universal Owners in corporate governance including whether they foster patient capital and introduce the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Valeeva2020,

title = {The duality of firms and directors in board interlock networks: A relational event modeling approach},

author = {D Valeeva and E M Heemskerk and F W Takes},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378873320300186?},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2020.02.009},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-03-11},

journal = {Social Networks},

volume = {62},

pages = {68-79},

abstract = {The long tradition of scholarly work on corporate interlocks has left us with competing theoretical frameworks on the causes of interlock networks. Board interlocks are studied either as means to overcome the resource dependence of corporations or as a group cohesion mechanism of business elites. This contrast is due to an empirical divide of the literature where either the firms or the individuals are considered as decision-making bodies. In systematically ignoring the agency of the other group of actors, these literatures suffer from both theoretical and empirical biases in understanding the drivers of new interlocks. In this paper, we employ a relational event modeling technique that allows us to overcome this problem. The analysis of board appointments in Denmark demonstrates how in fact both personal and corporate considerations simultaneously drive the evolution of the corporate networks. The study of the duality of actors is essential for understanding the causes and consequences of corporate networks across time and space.},

keywords = {corporate networks, elites, interlocking directorates, relational event modeling},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pisani2020does,

title = {Does it pay to be a multinational? A large-sample, cross-national replication assessing the multinationality--performance relationship},

author = {Niccolo Pisani and Javier Garcia-Bernardo and Eelke Heemskerk},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/smj.3087},

doi = {10.1002/smj.3087},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Strategic Management Journal},

volume = {41},

number = {1},

pages = {152--172},

publisher = {John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Chichester, UK},

abstract = {

Research Summary



Does it pay to be a multinational? Despite decades of empirical research, we still do not know. We undertake a large‐sample, cross‐national replication of Lu and Beamish (2004) and Berry and Kaul's (2016) works to examine whether the multinationality–performance relationship is S‐shaped in a 2009–2016 panel of 889,865 firm‐year observations. Using a two‐stage least squares fixed‐effects model that accounts for endogeneity on a subsample of 32,835 multinationals from 64 countries, we find no evidence of an S‐shaped relationship; nor do we see it in any of the single‐country contexts. Our results show no evidence of any within‐firm effect of multinationality on performance, highlighting the need for more contextually‐grounded research focused on explaining between‐firm effects to advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the multinationality‐performance relationship.

Managerial Summary



We replicate two studies that examined the relationship between a firm's multinationality and its performance. Lu and Beamish (2004) found evidence of an S‐shaped relationship—with performance first decreasing, then increasing, then decreasing again as firms expanded abroad—in a sample of Japanese firms; Berry and Kaul (2016) found no evidence of an S‐shaped pattern in a sample of U.S. multinationals. We test for the same relationship using data from nearly 250,000 firms based in over 100 countries from 2009 to 2016 and find no evidence of an S‐shaped pattern or of any effect of multinationality. Our study thus adds substantial evidence to the one shown by Berry and Kaul (2016), emphasizing the need to focus on how contextual differences influence the multinationality–performance relationship.

},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{van2020community,

title = {Community membership consistency in corporate board interlock networks},

author = {Dafne E van Kuppevelt and Rena Bakhshi and Eelke M Heemskerk and Frank W Takes},

url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.00745},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {arXiv},

number = {2008.00745},

abstract = {Community detection is a well established method for studying the meso scale structure of social networks. Applying a community detection algorithm results in a division of a network into communities that is often used to inspect and reason about community membership of specific nodes. This micro level interpretation step of community structure is a crucial step in typical social science research. However, the methodological caveat in this step is that virtually all modern community detection methods are non-deterministic and based on randomization and approximated results. This needs to be explicitly taken into consideration when reasoning about community membership of individual nodes. To do so, we propose a metric of emph{community membership consistency}, that provides node-level insights in how reliable the placement of that node into a community really is. In addition, it enables us to distinguish the emph{community core} members of a community. The usefulness the proposed metrics is demonstrated on corporate board interlock networks, in which weighted links represent shared senior level directors between firms. Results suggest that the community structure of global business groups is centered around persistent communities consisting of core countries tied by geographical and cultural proximity. In addition, we identify fringe countries that appear to associate with a number of different global business communities. },

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{fichtner2020new,

title = {The New Permanent Universal Owners: Index funds, patient capital, and the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship},

author = {Jan Fichtner and Eelke M Heemskerk},

url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2020.1781417},

doi = {10.1080/03085147.2020.1781417},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Economy and Society},

volume = {49},

number = {4},

pages = {493--515},

publisher = {Routledge},

abstract = {Fundamental change is happening in global finance – the shift from active management to index funds. This money mass-migration into index funds has far-reaching socio-economic consequences, as it has the potential to transform the nature of shareholder capitalism. We call BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street the ‘New Permanent Universal Owners’ that are invested indefinitely in thousands of firms. We provide novel findings on the combined ownership of the Big Three in European countries and Japan and investigate how this signals a shift away from the shareholder capitalism that has been dominant for the past three decades. We discuss the future role(s) of the New Permanent Universal Owners in corporate governance including whether they foster patient capital and introduce the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{PetryFichtnerHeemskerk2019b,

title = {Steering capital: the growing private authority of index providers in the age of passive asset management},

author = {J Petry and J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk},

url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2019.1699147},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2019.1699147},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-12-10},

journal = {Review of International Political Economy},

abstract = {Since the global financial crisis, there is a massive shift of assets towards index funds. Rather than picking stocks, index funds replicate stock indices such as the S&P 500. But where do these indices actually come from? This paper analyzes the politico-economic role of index providers, a small group of highly profitable firms including MSCI, S&P DJI, and FTSE Russell, and develops a research agenda from an IPE perspective. We argue that these index providers have become actors that exercise growing private authority as they steer investments through the indices they create and maintain. While technical expertise is a precondition, their brand is the primary source of index provider authority, which is entrenched through network externalities. Rather than a purely technical exercise, constructing indices is inherently political. Which companies or countries are included into an index or excluded (i.e. receive investment in- or outflows) is based on criteria defined by index providers, thereby setting standards for corporate governance and investor access. Hence, in this new age of passive asset management index providers are becoming gatekeepers that exert de facto regulatory power and thus may have important effects on corporate governance and the economic policies of countries.},

keywords = {capital flows, index funds, index providers, passive asset management, private authority, stock market indices},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Ajdacic2019,

title = {The Wealth Defence Industry: A large-scale study on accountancy firms as profit shifting facilitators},

author = {L D Ajdacic and E M Heemskerk and J Garcia-Bernardo},

url = {http://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/8t5za},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-12-04},

journal = {Working paper},

abstract = {Corporations increasingly engage in innovative ‘tax planning strategies’ by shifting profits between jurisdictions. In response, states try to curtail such profit shifting activities while at the same time attempting to retain and attract multinational corporations. We aim to open up this dichotomy between states and corporations and argue that a wealth defence industry of professional service firms plays a crucial role as intermediaries. We investigate the subsidiary structure of 27,000 MNCs and show that clients of the Big Four accounting firms show systematically higher levels of aggressive tax planning strategies than clients of smaller accounting firms. We specify this effect for three distinct strategies and also uncover marked differences across countries. As such we provide empirical evidence for the systematic involvement of auditors as intermediaries in corporate wealth defence.},

keywords = {Globalization, multiplex corporate networks, offshore, offshore financial centres},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Babic2019db,

title = {The rise of transnational state capital: state-led foreign investment in the 21st century},

author = {M Babic and J Garcia-Bernardo and E M Heemskerk},

url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2019.1665084},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2019.1665084},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-10-07},

journal = {Review of International Political Economy},

volume = {27},

number = {3},

pages = {433-475},

abstract = {Cross-border state-led investment is a recently rising, but understudied phenomenon of the global political economy. Existing research employs an anecdotal and case-oriented perspective that does not engage in a systemic, large-scale analysis of this rise of transnational state investment and its consequences for the transformation of state power in 21st century capitalism. We take a first step at filling this gap and offer two original contributions: Conceptually, we operationalize transnational foreign state-led investment on the basis of weighted ownership ties. These state capital ties are created by states as investors in corporations around the world. Empirically, we demonstrate our approach by setting up and analyzing the largest dataset on transnational state capital up to date. We show which different outward strategies states as owners employ and classify states according to their relative positions within the global network of transnational state capital. Our results illustrate a crucial aspect of the ongoing transformation of state power and sovereignty within globalization and we demonstrate how a careful and data-driven approach is able to identify different pathways and dimensions of this transformation.},

keywords = {corporate power, foreign direct investment, Globalization, Ownership, state capitalism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Takes2018,

title = {Multiplex network motifs as building blocks of corporate networks},

author = {F W Takes and W A Kosters and B Witte and E M Heemskerk},

url = {https://appliednetsci.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s41109-018-0094-z},

doi = {10.1007/s41109-018-0094-z},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-12-14},

journal = {Applied Network Science, Springer},

volume = {3},

number = {39},

pages = {1-22},

abstract = {In corporate networks, firms are connected through links of corporate ownership and shared directors, connecting the control over major economic actors in our economies in meaningful and consequential ways. Most research thus far focused on the connectedness of firms as a result of one particular link type, analyzing node-specific metrics or global network-based methods to gain insights in the modelled corporate system. 

 

In this paper, we aim to understand multiplex corporate networks with multiple types of connections, specifically investigating the network’s essential building blocks: multiplex network motifs. Motifs, which are small subgraph patterns occurring at significantly higher frequencies than in similar random networks, have demonstrated their usefulness in understanding the structure of many types of real-world networks. However, detecting motifs in multiplex networks is nontrivial for two reasons. First of all, there are no out-of-the-box subgraph enumeration algorithms for multiplex networks. Second, existing null models to test network motif significance, are unable to incorporate the interlayer dependencies in the multiplex network. We solve these two issues by introducing a layer encoding algorithm that incorporates the multiplex aspect in the subgraph enumeration phase. In addition, we propose a null model that is able to preserve the interlayer connectedness, while taking into account that one of the link types is actually the result of a projection of an underlying bipartite network. 

 

The experimental section considers the corporate network of Germany, in which tens of thousands of firms are connected through several hundred thousand links. We demonstrate how incorporating the multiplex aspect in motif detection is able to reveal new insights that could not be obtained by studying only one type of relationship. In a general sense, the motifs reflect known corporate governance practices related to the monitoring of investments and the concentration of ownership. A substantial fraction of the discovered motifs is typical for an industrialized country such as Germany, whereas others seem specific for certain economic sectors. Interestingly, we find that motifs involving financial firms are over-represented amongst the larger and more complex motifs. This demonstrates the prominent role of the financial sector in Germany’s largely industry-oriented corporate network.},

keywords = {corporate ownership, multiplex corporate networks, network motifs},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Fichter2019,

title = {The New Permanent Universal Owners: Index Funds, (Im)patient Capital, and the Claim of Long-termism},

author = {J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk},

url = {https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3321597},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-11-13},

journal = {SSRN},

pages = {1-30},

abstract = {Fundamental change is happening in asset management – the shift from actively managed funds 

to index funds. This money mass migration into index funds has far-reaching consequences, 

because it leads to a concentration of corporate ownership in the hands of the ‘Big Three’ asset 

managers. We call BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street the ‘New Permanent Universal 

Owners’ as they are invested indefinitely in thousands of member firms of stock indexes. We 

provide novel findings on the combined ownership of the Big Three in 17 major stock indexes 

from nine countries. Furthermore, we shed light on the impact of index funds on the dichotomy 

between ‘patient’ and ‘impatient’ capital. The Big Three have proclaimed themselves 

champions of long-termism. We analyze their voting behavior in five countries concerning two 

proxies for corporate short-termism: share buybacks, and mergers and acquisitions. So far, they 

have not unambiguously acted as champions of long-termism.},

keywords = {asset managers, corporate governance, corporate ownership, index funds, shorttermism, varieties of capitalism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{BigData,

title = {The Promise and Perils of Using Big Data in the Study of Corporate Networks: Problems, Diagnostics and Fixes},

author = {E M Heemskerk and K Young and F W Takes and B Cronin and J Garcia-Bernardo and V Popov and W K Winecoff and L F Henriksen and A Laurin-Lamonthe},

url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/glob.12183/full},

doi = {10.1111/glob.12183},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Global Networks},

volume = {18},

number = {1},

pages = {3-32},

abstract = {Network data on connections between corporate actors and entities – for instance through co-ownership ties or elite social networks – are increasingly available to researchers interested in probing the many important questions related to the study of modern capitalism. Given the analytical challenges associated with the nature of the subject matter, variable data quality and other problems associated with currently available data on this scale, we discuss the promise and perils of using big corporate network data (BCND). We propose a standard procedure for helping researchers deal with BCND problems. While acknowledging that different research questions require different approaches to data quality, we offer a schematic platform that researchers can follow to make informed and intelligent decisions about BCND issues and address these through a specific work-flow procedure. For each step in this procedure, we provide a set of best practices for how to identify, resolve and minimize the BCND problems that arise.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Naissance,

title = {When Theory Meets Methods: The Naissance of Computer Assisted Corporate Interlock Research},

author = {M Fennema and E M Heemskerk},

url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/glob.12178/full},

doi = {10.1111/glob.12178},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Global Networks},

volume = {18},

number = {1},

pages = {81-104},

abstract = {In this article, we study the emergence of computer aided network analysis as an example of ‘Mertonian’ multiple discovery. Computer assisted quantitative network analysis emerged around 1970 and small groups of researchers in different universities, who were independent of each other and looking for the right concepts and computer programs to implement graph theory in social analysis, first applied it to corporate interlock networks. We show how mathematical graph theory provided a toolbox for systematic network analysis and that simultaneously in the Netherlands and the United States this toolbox found an application in the study of corporate power. A historical narrative covers the three main centres in which large-scale corporate network analysis emerged – Amsterdam, California and Stony Brook. For each centre, we provide a sketch of the people involved, the tools they used, and the motivations that brought them to this topic. Our analysis makes clear that one cannot understand the emergence of computer aided network analysis without considering the personal and often political motivations of those who engaged in the first board interlock studies. Insurgent students of political science and sociology pushed for a research agenda on corporate power and found support from scholars who were keen to develop innovative network analysis methods. Hence, corporate network analysis became a legitimate field of research.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{takes2018multiplex,

title = {Multiplex network motifs as building blocks of corporate networks},

author = {Frank W Takes and Walter A Kosters and Boyd Witte and Eelke M Heemskerk},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Applied network science},

volume = {3},

number = {1},

pages = {1--22},

publisher = {SpringerOpen},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{heemskerk2018network,

title = {Network analysis and the Amsterdam School},

author = {Eelke M Heemskerk},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Transnational Capital and Class Fractions: The Amsterdam School Perspective Reconsidered},

pages = {197},

publisher = {Routledge},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{sectorresearch,

title = {Sinks and Conduits: Identifying Offshore Financial Centers by using Big Data},

author = {J Garcia-Bernardo and J Fichtner and F W Takes and E M Heemskerk},

url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/wp-content/uploads/IFC-Economic-Report.pdf},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-11-30},

journal = {IFC Review},

volume = {Economic Report},

number = {Winter 2017/ 18},

pages = {61-63},

abstract = {Th is article is based on J. Garcia-Bernardo, J. Fichtner, F.W. Takes and E.M. Heemskerk, ‘Uncovering Off shore Financial Centers: Conduits and Sinks in the Global Corporate Ownership Network’, Scientifi c Reports 7, article 6246, 2017. Th e research illustrates that ‘off shore’ jurisdictions are much more complex than the traditional notion of an island state secreting away cash. Th e University of Amsterdam researchers found that the off shore industry is in fact a complex network of fi nancial conduits, which involve many of the traditional ‘onshore’ centres.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Statesb,

title = {States versus Corporations: Rethinking the Power of Business in International Politics},

author = {M Babic and J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk},

url = {http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03932729.2017.1389151},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-11-16},

journal = {The International Spectator: Italian Journal of International Affairs},

abstract = {Over 25 years ago, Susan Strange urged IR scholars to include multinational corporations in their analysis. Within IR and IPE discussions, this was either mostly ignored or reflected in an empirically and methodologically unsatisfactory way. We reiterate Strange’s call by sketching a fine-grained theoretical and empirical approach that includes both states and corporations as juxtaposed actors that interact in transnational networks inherent to the contemporary international political economy. This realistic, juxtaposed, actor- and relations-centred perspective on state and corporate power in the global system is empirically illustrated by the example of the transnationalisation of state ownership.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Offshore2017,

title = {Uncovering Offshore Financial Centers: Conduits and Sinks in the Global Corporate Ownership Network},

author = {J Garcia-Bernardo and J Fichtner and F W Takes and E M Heemskerk},

url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-06322-9},

doi = {10.1038/s41598-017-06322-9},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-07-24},

journal = {Scientific Reports},

volume = {7},

number = {Article 6246},

abstract = {Multinational corporations use highly complex structures of parents and subsidiaries to organize 

their operations and ownership. O shore Financial Centers (OFCs) facilitate these structures through low taxation and lenient regulation, but are increasingly under scrutiny, for instance for enabling tax avoidance. Therefore, the identi cation of OFC jurisdictions has become a politicized and contested issue. We introduce a novel data-driven approach for identifying OFCs based on the global corporate ownership network, in which over 98 million rms (nodes) are connected through 71 million ownership relations. This granular rm-level network data uniquely allows identifying both sink-OFCs and conduit- OFCs. Sink-OFCs attract and retain foreign capital while conduit-OFCs are attractive intermediate destinations in the routing of international investments and enable the transfer of capital without taxation. We identify 24 sink-OFCs. In addition, a small set of ve countries – the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore and Switzerland – canalize the majority of corporate o shore investment as conduit-OFCs. Each conduit jurisdiction is specialized in a geographical area and there 

is signi cant specialization based on industrial sectors. Against the idea of OFCs as exotic small islands that cannot be regulated, we show that many sink and conduit-OFCs are highly developed countries.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ESBb,

title = {Langetermijnoriëntatie en de opkomst van passieve investeerders},

author = {E M Heemskerk},

url = {https://esb.nu/esb/20029499/langetermijnorientatie-en-de-opkomst-van-passieve-investeerders},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-07-13},

journal = {Economisch Statistische Berichten (ESB)},

volume = {102},

number = {4751},

pages = {320-321},

abstract = {Passieve investeerders zijn de afgelopen jaren flinke gegroeid. BlackRock, Vanguard en State Street hebben nu belangen in de meeste beursgenoteerde bedrijven. Welke rol vervullen deze aandeel­houders en wat betekent dit voor het management?},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Rijnland,

title = {Ligt het Rijnland nu in de VS? Lange termijn oriëntatie en passieve investeringsfondsen},

author = {E M Heemskerk},

url = {http://heemskerk.socsci.uva.nl/pdfs/Ligt%20het%20Rijnland%20nu%20in%20de%20VS.pdf},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-06-16},

journal = {Goed Bestuur & Toezicht},

volume = {13},

number = {2},

pages = {14-16},

abstract = {Bedreigd door vijandige overnamepogingen roepen bestuurders van Nederlandse bedrijven en politici om beschermingsconstructies. Hun pleidooi voor de lange termijn lijkt wat hypocriet. De ongekende opkomst van Amerikaanse indexbeleggers verklaart wellicht meer. Enorme fondsen als Blackrock zijn op de lange termijn gericht en onderhouden veel contact met ‘hun’ ondernemingen.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{AntitrustChronicle,

title = {The New Mandate Owners: Passive Asset Managers and the Decoupling of Corporate Ownership},

author = {C Shenkar and E M Heemskerk and J Fichtner},

url = {https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2988937},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-06-14},

journal = {Competition Policy International Antitrust Chronicle},

volume = {Spring 2017 Volume 1},

number = {3},

pages = {51-57},

abstract = {A major shift toward passively managed index funds in recent years has led to the re-concentration of corporate ownership in the hands of just three large asset management firms, the Big Three: BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. We propose that this trend has re-structured ownership in capital markets. Adopting a contractual view to the corporate share, we re-define share holding and suggest that the New Mandate Owners in fact hold the essence of corporate power, as their aggregated positions capture the core element of the franchise of corporate voting.},

keywords = {corporate ownership, passive asset management},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{BigThree,

title = {Hidden Power of the Big Three? Passive Index Funds, Re-Concentration of Corporate Ownership, and New Financial Risk},

author = {J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk and J Garcia-Bernardo},

url = {https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-and-politics/article/hidden-power-of-the-big-three-passive-index-funds-reconcentration-of-corporate-ownership-and-new-financial-risk/30AD689509AAD62F5B677E916C28C4B6},

doi = {10.1017/bap.2017.6},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-04-25},

journal = {Business and Politics},

volume = {19},

number = {2},

pages = {298-326},

abstract = {Since 2008, a massive shift has occurred from active toward passive investment strategies. The passive index fund industry is dominated by BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, which we call the “Big Three.” We compre- hensively map the ownership of the Big Three in the United States and find that together they constitute the largest shareholder in 88 percent of the S&P 500 firms. In contrast to active funds, the Big Three hold relatively illiquid and perma- nent ownership positions. This has led to opposing views on incentives and pos- sibilities to actively exert shareholder power. Some argue passive investors have little shareholder power because they cannot “exit,” while others point out this gives them stronger incentives to actively influence corporations. Through an anal- ysis of proxy vote records we find that the Big Three do utilize coordinated voting strategies and hence follow a centralized corporate governance strategy. However, they generally vote with management, except at director (re-)elections. Moreover, the Big Three may exert “hidden power” through two channels: First, via private engagements with management of invested companies; and second, because company executives could be prone to internalizing the objectives of the Big Three. We discuss how this development entails new forms of financial risk.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}