Purposeful abstractions: thoughts on creating business network models

Purpose – This paper expresses the author's viewpoint on how to advance research and practice on managing business networks and addressing convergence across industries. Design/method/approach – The paper is based on the authors extensive prior research in strategy and business experience. Findings – The author suggests differentiating networks by purpose and framing role spaces can be useful abstractions that help researchers study networks and managers to navigate the design of networks. The author raises critical questions around business network design. Originality/value – The paper presents novel suggestions for studying business networks in a pragmatic way.