Social Network Evolution: The Case of UK Companies Before and After Brexit

The Brexit referendum has impacted both the UK and the EU economies in several ways. The uncertainty around Brexit highlighted the importance of a relationships network between directors of companies to access information and resources that are necessary for optimal decision making. It is difficult to develop informed business and economy policies without a deep understanding of the magnitude of Brexit on business-to-business relationships with EU-based firms. This study aims to analyze the impact of the passage of the Brexit referendum on the evolution of board interlock networks. The study uses network analysis to measure the evolution of UK-EU directors’ relationships over the Brexit period, predominantly between the 2010 and 2020 period. The study models the structural changes in dynamic networks by converting this evolving network into static graphs on yearly basis. The analysis indicates that links formation in the UK is affected negatively by the Brexit referendum. It also has a negative impact on forming a new link with potential companies’ directors in the EU, but it shows a rising tendency for shared affiliation bias analysis. Interestingly, the contradicted trend in 2007, the number of directors’ connection in consumer service and food & drug sectors was decreasing in the UK while rocketing in the EU.