A study about the role of social networks on inter-organizational power and dependency relations: The case of Syrian opposition movements

The organizations that founded by human beings, who are social creatures, are subjects which are to be scrutinized socially. Social networks, that are vital component of people's life, play an important roles for the organizations and provide them some precious advantages for them to survive concerning obtaining resources and securing this obtaining. Yet, it can be mentioned that the organizations go through some obstacles during attaining resources, especially inter organizational power and dependency relationship are significant matters for this attaining process. According to the Resource Dependency Theory, which is interested in the inter organizational power and dependency issues, in inter organizational relations power imbalance and reciprocal dependency circumstances oblige the organizations that are part of these rough situations. The primary aim of this dissertation is to reveal in which points the resource dependency and social network theories are connected and to make some inferences about how the context impacts the organizational resource gaining activities that are done by means of their social networks. Theoretically in the narrower sense, this paper aims at testing some assumptions about the organizations, which take place in the closure and owing to that has connections with the restricted actors, can use some other relations which are already out their network to overcome obstacles during the process of getting resources for survival. Yet, because of the fact that closures are closed systems and have not connections with each other under normal circumstances, organizations can be in need of operating some apparatus to penetrate or to catch a point to reach a connection from other closures and these apparatus should be competent enough to take advantage of structural holes between these closures with his/her experience or so. Related to them another assumption can be about the organizations, which undergo a great deal of power and dependency imbalance with its supplier, can found some strategic alliances or coalitions with organizations that have weak ties, in order to get resources. In the thesis, these theoretically founded issues are to be analysed empirically. It is an undeniable truth that 'Arab Spring' wind have deeply impacted MENA area. Moreover, as a country that have affected by Arab Spring and have been dealing with a deep inner conflict, Syria is part of this process. In that sense, the evolution of the organizations of Syrian opposition before and after the Arab Spring can be considered as good examples for the above mentioned theoretical issues about obtaining resources and how social network influence these obtaining operation. Concerning social networks and related matters about it, the general structural features of the opposing organizations that have been founded before and after the Arab Spring and how their social relations with the supplier countries/organizations can shape the attaining resources, are scrutinized by 8 propositions and analysed by the secondary data about the relationship and contacts of these organizations and countries that can be labeled as resource obtaning activitires. According to the results of these analyses, all proportions are supported. As a result, although it is mentioned in the related literature that the organizations can densely use their own social networks to overcome the obstacles which are derived from power and dependency relations during the resource gaining process, it is not specifically clarified which type of social network relation and attribution is more efficient. Taking into consideration the results of this dissertation it can be inferred that the organization can direct or try to solve troubles that are emerged from power and dependency imbalance during the process of resource attaining by the help of their social networks and the context can create an atmosphere that organizations can use their social ties to get resources. More specifically, in the context where the closures are common, the organization can prefer to facilitate strategic alliances that are founded via weak ties and to bring up brokerage roles which can exploit of structural holes. Key words: Social network theory Resource dependency theory, structural holes, weak ties, power imbalance, mutual dependency, Syrian opposition.