Regional Preferences for Interlocking Directorates among the Largest American Corporations

Abstract

The phenomenon of corporate interlocks among large American corporations is examined in the context of an information network. This information network is analyzed at the regional level by use of multidimensional scaling. Three characteristics used in the selection of directors are revealed; the length of service of the chief executive officer, whether the region is a traditional manufacturing region, and whether the region of the headquarters of a corporation is east or west of the Mississippi River. These factors help to explain the bias of the manufacturing belt for selection of directors within the belt, and may be a contributing cause of the decline of the region.