Revisiting perspectives on George Homans: correcting misconceptions

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Muldoon ◽  
Eric W. Liguori ◽  
Josh Bendickson ◽  
Antonina Bauman
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Work First ◽  
Common Misconceptions

Purpose This paper aims to correct some misconceptions about George Homans. Specifically, it clarifies the relationship between Homans and Malinowski, explains why Homans is rightfully considered the father of social exchange, shows Homans’ perspective on altruism and self-interest and analyses Homans’ place in management’s complex history. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper which synthesizes both primary and secondary sources on Homans, social exchange theory (SET), Malinowski and other Homans’ contemporaries and theories, which, in aggregate, help dispel some common misconceptions in the literature today. Findings This paper disperses several common misconceptions about Homans and his work. First, the findings show that beliefs that Homans was unaware of Malinowski are not justified, as Homans was not only aware of Malinowski but also significantly influenced by Malinowski’s work. Second, this manuscript clarifies that while Homans, for specific reasons, focussed on self-interest, his work accounted for altruism. Lastly, this paper also further cements Homans’ place in history as the father of social exchange. Originality/value Recent misconceptions have emerged in the literature calling to question not only Homans’ legitimacy as the father of social exchange but also some of his views on the theory itself. By clarifying these misconceptions, this paper enables scholars from a variety of management fields to better understand historical foundations of SET and its impact on current research.

Trade show networks, trust and organizational learning: the effect of network ties

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriette Bettis-Outland ◽  
Roberto Mora Cortez ◽  
Wesley J. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Weak Ties ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Trade Show ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Trade Shows ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to evaluate the behavior of micro and macro business networks in a trade show context. The following questions are addressed: How do business networks impact organizational learning at trade shows? Can relational ties between networks influence organizational learning? Does trust play a role between different network types and organizational learning? Design/methodology/approach The theoretical framework for this research is based on the broad spectrum of social exchange theory (Cropanzano and Mitchell, 2005; Foa and Foa, 1974, 1980; Kelley and Thibault, 1978; Kelley, 1997). Social exchange theory has several different interpretations; one common view of this theory involves a series of interactions that result in obligations for the participating members (Emerson, 1976; Cropanzano and Mitchell, 2005). This model extends the Levin and Cross (2004) model presented in their article, “strength of weak ties you can trust: the mediating role of trust in effective knowledge transfer”. Findings This paper is a review and synthesis of trade show, trust, organizational learning and business network literature. This conceptual paper concludes with eight propositions, which delve into connections between micro and macro networks, strong and weak ties in these networks and the effect on organizational learning. Trust is the mediating variable between networks and organizational learning. High levels of trust could change the learning approach (adaptive, generative or transformative) of the different networks. Research limitations/implications The propositions integrate extant research on trade shows and will guide future research regarding the relationship between types of business networks, trust and organizational learning. Practical implications This conceptual paper looks at trade shows from a network perspective; specifically, how do trade show networks impact organizational learning. Trade show participation results in different approaches to organizational learning, which can be modified based on the level of trust that exists between network members. Trade show participation enables both adaptive and generative learning. However, atypical interactions between business networks occasionally produce transformative learning. Originality/value This conceptual paper offers an innovative approach to trade show research by analyzing the relationship between trade shows and organizational learning from a network perspective, using trust as the mediating variable.

Effects of suppliers’ trust and commitment on customer involvement

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (6) ◽  
pp. 1041-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Li ◽  
Gang Li ◽  
Taiwen Feng
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Exchange Theory ◽  
Governance Mechanism ◽  
Relational Governance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Involvement ◽  
Specific Investment ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among suppliers’ trust and commitment, transaction-specific investment, switching cost, and customer involvement within the context of relational governance mechanism and the social exchange theory. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use survey data from 214 Chinese manufacturing firms and employ the structural equation model to verify the conceptual model. Findings – Relational governance benefits customer involvement. Transaction-specific investment mediates the relationship between trust and commitment of suppliers. Switching costs negatively moderate the relationship between suppliers’ trust and customer involvement, but positively moderate the relationship between suppliers’ commitment and customer involvement. Research limitations/implications – The authors focus on two key elements of relationship, namely, trust and commitment of suppliers, but neglect other relational factors, such as relational norms and interdependence. Originality/value – These findings broaden the understanding and present new directions for the implementation of customer involvement from the perspective of relational governance and social exchange theory.

Fostering change-oriented OCBS: an analysis of India’s IT talent

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aakanksha Kataria ◽  
Kumari Rashmi ◽  
Mansi Rastogi
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Psychological Climate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
The Social ◽  
It Personnel ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to investigate how workplace resourcefulness (positive psychological climate), as well as personal resources (psychological capital [PsyCap]), influence work engagement to promote change-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors (Ch-OCBs) among Indian information technology (IT) personnel. Design/methodology/approach The social exchange theory and job demands-resources model are used to provide rationale for proposing a comprehensive mechanism including antecedents, moderators as well as mediators enabling Ch-OCBs among IT personnel. Structured questionnaires were administered targeting IT professionals and their supervisors to test the proposed relationships. The obtained data from 30 supervisors and 240 subordinates were tested using confirmatory factor analysis, SEM and moderated path analysis technique. Findings Psychological climate, PsyCap and work engagement positively relate to Ch-OCBs; PsyCap moderated the relationship between psychological climate and work engagement. Specifically, the relationship between psychological climate and work engagement has come out stronger for employees with high PsyCap. Work engagement fully mediated the relationship between psychological climate and Ch-OCBs. Practical implications The findings can be critical in promoting voluntary change-focused behaviors among Indian IT personnel, for Indian and foreign (non-Indian) multi-national corporations that are interested in reaping profits by availing change-driven extra-role services of their efficient and the most preferred Indian IT employees of the world. Originality/value This study addresses to the call for more research on change-focused promotive part of OCB and advances the literature by providing evidence on the proposed set of associations from fast-pacing Indian economy.

scholarly journals Fostering sustainability through technology-mediated interactions

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 919-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marylyn Carrigan ◽  
Solon Magrizos ◽  
Jordon Lazell ◽  
Ioannis Kostopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Critical Overview

PurposeThis article addresses the lack of scholarly attention paid to the sharing economy from a sociological perspective, with respect to the technology-mediated interactions between sharing economy users. The paper provides a critical overview of the sharing economy and its impact on business and communities and explores how information technology can facilitate authentic, genuine sharing through exercising and enabling conviviality and non-direct reciprocity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with a critique of the technology-mediated sharing economy, introduces the concept of conviviality as a tool to grow and shape community and sustainability within the sharing economy and then explores reciprocity and sharing behaviour. Finally, the paper draws upon social exchange theory to illustrate conviviality and reciprocity, using four case studies of technology-enabled sharing.FindingsThe paper contributes to the emerging debate around how the sharing economy, driven by information systems and technology, affects social cohesion and personal relationships. The paper elucidates the central role conviviality and reciprocity play in explaining the paradoxes, tensions and impact of the sharing economy on society. Conviviality and reciprocity are positioned as key capabilities of a more sustainable version of the sharing economy, enabled via information technology.Originality/valueThe findings reveal that information technology-mediated sharing enterprises should promote conviviality and reciprocity in order to deliver more positive environmental, economic and social benefits. The diversity of existing operations indicated by the findings and the controversies discussed will guide the critical study of the social potential of sharing economy to avoid treating all sharing alike.

Managerial support for development and turnover intention

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manish Kumar ◽  
Hemang Jauhari ◽  
Ashish Rastogi ◽  
Sandeep Sivakumar
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Support ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to integrate learnings from social exchange theory, organizational support theory and JD-R model to explore the relationship among support for development, work engagement (WE), job satisfaction (JS) and turnover intention (TI). It was hypothesized that the relationship between managerial support for development (MSD) and TI would be explained through organizational support for development (OSD), WE and overall job satisfaction (OJS). Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey on a sample of 5,088 service industry employees undergoing organizational change and working in the business-to-business context was employed. Reponses were analyzed using IBM® SPSS® AMOSTM 20. Findings The findings were along the hypothesized lines. The study found support for mediation by OSD, WE and OJS, respectively of MSD and TI relationship. Similarly, the mediation of MSD-OJS relationship by OSD and WE, respectively were also supported. Furthermore, OSD mediated the relationship between MSD and WE; while the relationship between OSD and TI was mediated by WE and OJS, respectively and additionally, the OSD-OJS relationship was mediated by WE. Lastly, the mediation of WE-TI relationship by OJS was also supported. Therefore, the sequence of MSD-OSD-WE-OJS-TI partial mediation model was supported. Research limitations/implications While the sample size (n=5,088) is large, the respondents belong to one business unit of an organization, constraining generalizability. Additionally, the study is limited by cross-sectional design. Finally, the study was restricted by the choices of perceptual measures of study variables and non-quantitative evaluation of discretion/job demand. Originality/value Using learnings from multiple theories, the present study examined the roles of two sources of support for development (organizational and managerial) and two job-related states (WE and JS) in relating with TI. Interestingly, all the expected relationships were true in a context signifying the discretionary nature of organization. Further, testing of alternate models gives additional credence to the findings.

scholarly journals Work–life programmes and organisational outcomes: the role of the human resource system

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 516-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kohinur Akter ◽  
Muhammad Ali ◽  
Artemis Chang
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Organisational Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Hr Systems

Purpose Empirical findings on the link between work–life programmes and organisational performance have been inconsistent, demanding further investigation of contextual factors. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This study uses social exchange theory, strategic human resource (HR) management theory and stakeholder theory to examine the relationship between work–life programmes and organisational outcomes, using three performance measures: perceived organisational performance, financial performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It also investigates the moderating effect of HR systems on the work–life programmes–performance relationship. The hypotheses were tested in 192 organisations in Australia, using data from an HR manager survey and archival databases. Findings The findings support the hypotheses that work–life programmes are positively associated with all three measures of performance. The results partially support the moderating effect of HR systems on the relationship between work–life programmes and perceived organisational performance. Originality/value This study provides pioneering evidence for the moderating effect of HR system on the work–life programme–performance relationship. It also includes the rarely studied CSR as an outcome of work–life programmes.

“Too much of a good thing?”: exploring the dark side of empowering leadership by linking it with unethical pro-organizational behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Zhang ◽  
Guyang Tian ◽  
Chao Ma ◽  
Yezhuang Tian ◽  
Zhongqiu Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Empowering Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indirect Relationship ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeGrounded in social exchange theory (SET), the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between empowering leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), as mediated by duty orientation (including duty to members, duty to mission and duty to codes). Further, this study proposes that perceived leader expediency moderates indirectly between empowering leadership and UPB.Design/methodology/approachThis paper tests this social exchange model across a survey study using time-lagged data collections from 215 employees of a service company in China.FindingsThe results show that duty orientation mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and UPB. In addition, perceived leader expediency moderates the indirect relationship between empowering leadership and UPB through duty orientation (i.e. duty to members and duty to missions).Originality/valueThis research aids in understanding the impact of empowering leadership on follower outcomes by investigating the dark side of empowering leadership and examining the relationships between empowering leadership, duty orientation and UPB. The present study also challenges the notion that the phrase “the greater the empowerment, the better the outcomes” suggests that organizations should offer a conditional approach to the empowerment of followers by their leaders.

Experiencing workplace ostracism with loss of engagement

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 617-630
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Xu ◽  
Ho Kwong Kwan ◽  
Miaomiao Li
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Job Engagement ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Workplace Ostracism ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeDrawing on social exchange theory and a cultural perspective, this study examines the relationship between workplace ostracism and job engagement by focusing on the mediating role of felt obligation and the moderating role of collectivism.Design/methodology/approachA two-wave survey was conducted over four months in a private service business in China. The participants comprised 108 Chinese employees.FindingsThe results indicate that workplace ostracism has a negative relationship with job engagement through a reduced sense of felt obligation. Collectivism strengthens the main effect of workplace ostracism on felt obligation and its indirect effect on job engagement via felt obligation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to understanding of the internal mechanism of the workplace ostracism–job engagement model by identifying the mediating role of felt obligation. It also emphasizes that collectivist cultures can enhance the effects of workplace ostracism. However, the generalizability of our findings may be limited due to this cultural factor.Practical implicationsOur findings show that workplace ostracism plays a significant role in reducing job engagement. Therefore, it is essential to reduce the incidence of ostracism in the workplace.Originality/valueBy addressing the previously unexplored mechanism that mediates the relationship between workplace ostracism and job engagement, this study provides new directions for research on workplace ostracism and job engagement.

The opportunity model of organizational commitment

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elif Cicekli ◽  
Hayat Kabasakal
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Exchange Theory ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationships between promotion, development, and recognition opportunities at work and organizational commitment, and whether these relationships are moderated by the job opportunities employees have in other organizations. Design/methodology/approach An opportunity model of organizational commitment is developed based on social exchange theory and several streams of opportunity research. Factor analyses and hierarchical multiple regression analyses are carried out to test the hypotheses using data from 550 white-collar employees. Findings The results of the analyses show that opportunities for development and recognition are predictors of organizational commitment, that job opportunities employees have in other organizations negatively moderate the relationship between recognition opportunity at work and organizational commitment, and that promotion opportunity does not predict organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications Future researchers could study the issue in the context of other cultures using data from multiple sources. Practical implications Employers who seek to increase their employees’ organizational commitment are advised to divert their energies from struggling to create promotion opportunities for their employees to creating opportunities for development and recognition. Originality/value The study explores the under-researched concept of opportunity at work and connects several streams of opportunity research by drawing on social exchange theory as a theoretical framework. The model is the first to address the effects of opportunity and alternative opportunities on organizational commitment.

scholarly journals The professional and personal values and their revelation through professional doctorates

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Gibbs ◽  
Kate Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Professional Doctorate ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Professional Doctorates ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Original Approach ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship between individual practitioners’ personal values and their developing professional agentic values. It considers how the former might be in tension with the prescribed forms of practice held to be “professional” by professional bodies, warranting membership, and indeed, any licence to practice. Design/methodology/approach – The paper seeks an understanding of the different personal and collective ontological stances and tensions that practitioners may experience as they progress through their careers, attempting to align their own values with those of the collective values within their profession. It is a conceptual paper. Findings – The authors explore the ideas through a Heideggerian reading of transdisciplinarity which the authors find helpful. Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual paper and my therefore may suffers from lack of empirical evidence which the authors would consider helpful as the next stage of development Practical implications – Through the lens of an “I” and “we” framework introduced in the paper and the use of a professional doctorate, the authors discuss how a practitioner and profession’s values may be in tension. Social implications – There may be issues of professional engagement which will impact on the development of the professions themselves. Originality/value – The authors believe this to be an original approach to understanding professional and personal values in professional doctorates

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