The dynamics of criminal collaboration

Multiplex ties in mafia networks

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9680945
AutoresF Calderoni (0000-0003-2979-4599, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences and Transcrime Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Milan Italy, autor correspondente), J Lerner (0000-0001-6565-1873, Department of Computer and Information Science University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany), David Bright (0000-0002-4425-9589, School of Humanities and Social Sciences Deakin University Melbourne Australia)
Ano2025
Data de publicação2025-12-17
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCriminology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0011-1384 • E-ISSN: 1745-9125
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1745-9125.70026
OpenAlexW7115738352
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas78

This study examines how social embeddedness and multiplex relationships shape criminal collaboration within organized crime networks. Drawing on data from three major investigations into the ‘Ndrangheta, we analyze how kinship, clan affiliation, leadership, and prior interactions influence participation in meetings and phone calls. Using relational hyperevent models, we assess the dynamic and multiplex nature of these networks across time and investigations. Results show that kinship, leadership, and shared clan affiliation consistently increase the likelihood of interaction, with stronger effects for face‐to‐face meetings. Prior joint interactions also predict future collaboration, especially when the mode remains consistent. We find contrasting patterns of closure: meetings resist triadic closure, reinforcing exclusivity and hierarchy, whereas phone calls promote connectivity by bridging structural holes. By modeling multiple relational mechanisms simultaneously and across different networks, this study contributes to research on criminal embeddedness and the structural organization of illicit collaboration

Bridging (networking · Clan · Criminal behavior · Embeddedness · Multiplex · Phone · Social network analysis · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis