Done Deal

Done Deal examines the relationship between social structureand the average length of time in economic exchange. The corporatemerger and acquisition market is examined over a 19 year period tostudy the statistical relationship between the average length oftime in deal negotiations and measures of institutional forces aswell as established sociometric measures. Survival regressionmodeling is employed to assess the role social structure plays inthe length of time in deal making. At the actor level, networkposition among investment bankers plays a role in the averagelength of time in deal negotiations. Investment bankers use degreecentrality and exploit structural holes within their ego networksto further their duration goals. At the group level,properties ofthe overall network of investment bankers are related to theaverage length of time in deal negotiations as well. Networkdensity of the investment bank community is related to the averagelength of time in deal making. Institutional forces play a role inthe average length of time in negotiations as well. The passage oftime itself is statistically related to lengthening the remaininglength of time, on average, in deal negotiations.