The Dynamics of Closeness and Betweenness

Although both betweenness and closeness centrality are claimed to be important for the effectiveness of someone's network position, it has not been comprehensively studied which networks emerge if actors strive to optimize their centrality in the network in terms of betweenness and closeness. We study each of these centrality measures separately, but we also analyze what happens if actors value betweenness and closeness simultaneously. Network dynamics differ considerably in a scenario with either betweenness or closeness incentives compared with a scenario in which closeness and betweenness incentives are combined. There are not only more stable networks if actors’ betweenness and closeness are combined, but also these stable networks are less stylized.