9308326 McPherson This research will test a theory arguing that groups gain and lose members through the social network connections between individuals, and through competition between groups for the time and other resources of the people in the community. A previous NSF grant gathered data on 1050 individuals and 254 groups in 10 communities. This new project will test group level hypotheses through inductive coding and analysis of group level data, and it will make the group data available to the public. The project will significantly expand scientific understanding of the dynamics of growth and decline of organizations, with potential benefit for corporations and voluntary groups as well as advancing basic sociological theory. ***
