Go ahead, leap: Triads and their practical and theoretical import. In response to "To leap or not to leap: Triads as arbitrary subsets of networks of connected dyads" by Anna Dubois

We agree with Dubois that, as supply chain management scholars, the object of our interest is, ultimately, supply networks. However, what is this supply network? Where does it end and where does it begin? It of course depends on research interest-one could study a dyad or a triad or a network of suppliers that exist upstream to an automaker or an industrial network that is stretched out so vast its outer edges overlap with other industries. Different units of analysis allow researchers to tackle different research questions. Then, why the focus on triads? A triad is the smallest network unit where we can observe how a link affects a link or a node affects a link either directly or indirectly connected-the quintessential network dynamics that a dyad by itself cannot capture. Therefore, there is nothing arbitrary about studying triads. If we say that we study networks, we have to begin by studying triads. In this rejoinder, we will present the practical and theoretical significance of triads. Also, we will make reference to supply networks as a "complex adaptive system" to frame triads in the larger supply network.