Social Network Analysis: Local and Global Centrality as the Communication Network Structure in the Beef Cattle Farmer Groups

Abstract

The dynamic among farmer institutions has essential problems to be addressed, especially regarding the pattern and process of communication interactions developing farmer institutions. Therefore, an assembly of agribusiness information within the communication network of the farmer group is of primary interest for our study. This study aims to analyze the agribusiness network structure of beef cattle farmer groups in Subang Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) used for discovering communication network structure. Data was collected through interviews using a questionnaire. The census method was used for the sampling technique and UCINET 6 used to analyze the data. The results of the study show: 1) The degree centrality and net draw illustrate the head of farmer groups still plays a role as a source of information for their members even if members can access 1-3 other sources, 2) The closeness centrality average is still high and approaching its maximum. The limitation of this study is that only in quantitative approach. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct further research in a qualitative approach to further analyze the roles play in the networks that can be considered in increasing group social capital.

Keywords

• communication
• connectivity
• network
• social capital