Putting Social Relationships to People, Things, and Places Centre Stage – Insights from a Qualitative Social Network Analysis

Given the transformative changes anticipated in the mobility sector, a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing the
stability and variability of travel behavior is important. In this paper, we employ insights derived from a qualitative social
network analysis conducted in Karlsruhe, Germany. The primary objective of this study is to provide deeper insights into the
factors that contribute to individuals’ daily life configurations and their changeability. Unlike the traditional approach of
investigating activity categories, this research centers on the social relationships of individuals. To capture diverse activ ity
purposes, a social network is defined as a web of relationships that connects people, things, and places. As such, people maintain
social relationships not only with friends and relatives but also with entities such as sports clubs and supermarkets. Consequently,
this study yields profound insights into the characteristics of social relationships and the determinants that lead to flexible or
stable mobility patterns. The analysis is dominated by two pivotal factors affecting stability and variability: the spatio-temporal
... mehr
context and the emotional-affective context. The article contends that an emphasis on relationships provides a useful amendment
to activity-based research approaches, as it offers a holistic perspective on the contextual elements that shape the stability and
variability of individual’s daily lives.