Network analysis has grown rapidly over the past two decades, but criticisms of the approach have increased as well. This article focuses on several accomplishments and unresolved problems of the network approach. In the first section, I illustrate the value of the network model in several substantive areas, focusing on studies of centrality and power, network subgroups, and interorganizational relations. I then discuss three issues over which the approach has provoked controversy: the relation between network analysis and rational choice theory; the role of norms and culture; and the question of human agency. I conclude with some examples of how network theorists are addressing these problems.
Social networks; network analysis; interorganizational relations; rational choice theory