Directed clustering in weighted networks: a new perspective

Abstract: In this paper, we consider the problem of assessing local clustering in complex networks. Various definitions for this measure have been proposed for the cases of networks having weighted edges, but less attention has been paid to both weighted and directed networks. We provide a new local clustering coefficient for this kind of networks, starting from those existing in the literature for the weighted and undirected case. Furthermore, we extract from our coefficient four specific components, in order to separately consider different link patterns of triangles. Empirical applications on several real networks from different frameworks and with different order are provided. The performance of our coefficient is also compared with that of existing coefficients in the literature.