A cursory look at the empirical and even the theoretical organizational network literature presents a rather unbalanced picture in terms of the focus of the current research. Specifically, while an extensive body of knowledge exists on network outcomes and on how network structures may contribute to the creation of outcomes at different levels of analysis (individuals, groups, organizations and populations of organizations), less attention has been paid in the literature to understanding how and why networks emerge, evolve and change. This special issue includes contributes which propose an integrated theoretical framework encompasses the mechanisms, processes and forces shaping the genesis and the evolutionary trajectories of networks.