Towards influence centrality: where to not add an edge in the network?

Abstract

In this work, we consider a strongly connected group of individuals involved in decision-making. The opinions of the individuals evolve using the Friedkin-Johnsen (FJ) model. We consider that there are two competing `influencers' (stubborn agents) vying for control over the final opinion of the group. We investigate the impact of modifying the network interactions on their respective control over the final opinions (influence centrality). We use signal flow graphs (SFG) to relate the network interactions with the influence that each `influencer' exerts on others. We present the sufficient conditions on the edge modifications which lead to the increase of the influence of an `influencer' at the expense of the other. Interestingly, the analysis also reveals the existence of redundant edge modifications that result in no change in the influence centrality of the network. We present several numerical examples to illustrate these results.