Toward Measurement of Social Exchange Resources: Reciprocal Contributions and Receipts

Abstract

This study investigates development of measures for the social resources which may be exchanged in working relationships, such as between supervisors and subordinates or between employees and work group peers. Items designed to measure social resource categories were administered to a heterogeneous sample of 260 employees from diverse organizations. This sample was fairly evenly divided by sex, age, job type, and employment tenure. Analysis showed both contribution and receipt of social resources can be distinctly measured for four different categories (information, respect, liking, and effort).