Reciprocity Theory Research Articles

Motivation behind review provision in online travel communities: do hometowner contributions matter?

PurposeOnline reviews have become increasingly important and numerous studies have noted the effect of social factors on the review provision of users. The purpose of this study is to investigate how hometowner contributions, which are defined as prior reviews posted by users from the same city, affect the quality of reviews by focal users.Design/methodology/approachBased on the theories of competitive altruism, pure altruism and reciprocity, as well as several social influence theories, a conceptual framework is constructed to explain user contribution behavior. In addition, empirical models are established based on 831,737 reviews of 919 hotels on Tripadvisor.FindingsThe quality of reviews by hometowners can significantly motivate subsequent users to contribute high-quality reviews. This positive effect is stronger than the effect of previous contributions by non-hometowners. The effect of hometowner contribution is amplified in users with limited review-posting experience and/or in those from countries with a considerable cultural distance from the target destination.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides the hospitality literature with new insights into the effect of social factors on the review provision of users in the context of online hotel review websites. The results also present numerous practical implications for online travel communities.Originality/valueThis study is an early attempt to analyze the effect of prior hometowner contributions on the subsequent contribution decisions of focal users. Thus, this study provides a satisfactory starting point for determining whether the review provision of focal users can be affected differently by prior contributions from their peers from different categories.

Social media usage and employee creativity: is relational energy a missing link?

PurposePrevious studies overemphasize the negative effects of social media usage (SMU) within organizations and underestimate its positive influences on employees' behavior. This study attempts to link employees' social media use at work to their creativity performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on the bounded generalized reciprocity theory and unbounded indirect reciprocity (UIR) theory, the authors developed a research model. To test the model, the authors collected a set of 172 paired data of organizations and employees from 31 knowledge-intensive enterprises in China to test the hypothesis.FindingsThis research found that the social, cognitive and hedonic uses of social media all directly affect employee creativity. Relational energy fully mediates the effects of the cognitive and hedonic usages on creativity. Moreover, job autonomy moderates the effects of the relationships among the social, cognitive and hedonic uses on employee creativity.Originality/valueThe conclusions not only enriched authors’ understanding of the effectiveness of interpersonal interaction but also extended the research boundary of the relationship between SMU and employee creativity.

Rawa-Nore gifting

This article comprises a rethinking of Mauss’s The gift, reciprocity, and exchange theory in anthropology, using theories of chaos and complexity to make sense of the author’s ethnographic data from Papua New Guinea. The article begins with an explanation of chaos and complexity, proceeds with an ethnographic demonstration focusing on pig feasts, marriage exchange, and exchanges within households, and concludes with a consideration of the implications of this analysis for Mauss’s legacy.

Family support in the representations of students

The research is aimed at studying the relationship of family mutual assistance. The aim of the work is to establish the nature of these relationships and the factors influencing their reproduction based on the study of family mutual assistance relations in families with student children. The methodological basis of the research is the development of the theory of reciprocity by B. Malinovsky and K. Polanyi, as well as the works of leading foreign and Russian scientists. The study was conducted using General scientific methods, such as system analysis, questionnaires, generalization and systematization, and comparisons. The empirical base is based on a survey of 500 students and 15 individual semi-structured interviews of students of the Ural state University of Economics and the Ural Federal University, collected in 2020.As a result of the study, it was found that the relations of family assistance in families with student children are arranged in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, that is, they reflect the interdependence of family members, the symmetry of support acts, when the roles of the recipient of a gift or service and the donor alternate, and are also characterized by non-equivalence of received (transmitted) gifts and services. The main types of family support are for student children-financial support for parents, for parents-assistance for children in household management. Emotional and psychological support is provided by more than half of the students and their parents. The reproduction of family mutual aid relations is influenced by social, economic and emotional factors, among which the factors of kinship, attachment, family solidarity, as well as the objective possibility of providing support as the economic basis of the relationship of assistance are of high importance.

Community participation towards conservation of Touran National Park (TNP): an application of reciprocal altruism theory

ABSTRACT Past research linking tourism and reciprocal altruism (RA), although meagre, has typically focused on relationships between hosts and guests. To broaden the application of RA in tourism, the current study focuses specifically on a local community and their participation in conserving national park assets. Face-to-face interviews with 39 local stakeholders were conducted in Iran to investigate how locals' altruistic behaviours contribute to the conservation of Touran National Park. The results demonstrate that while altruism motives such as satisfying a moral obligation to support the environment, protecting wildlife, and doing something positive for the community were cited as the main reason for conservation cooperation for NGOs and environmentalists, self-interest was the main reason for conservation cooperation motives amongst tourism business operators in conserving the park. This study also showed that locals' altruistic behaviour is an important and influential factor in protecting valuable natural resources.

Gossip and reputation in everyday life.

Gossip—a sender communicating to a receiver about an absent third party—is hypothesized to impact reputation formation, partner selection, and cooperation. Laboratory experiments have found that people gossip about others' cooperativeness and that they use gossip to condition their cooperation. Here, we move beyond the laboratory and test several predictions from theories of indirect reciprocity and reputation-based partner selection about the content of everyday gossip and how people use it to update the reputation of others in their social network. In a Dutch community sample (N = 309), we sampled daily events in which people either sent or received gossip about a target over 10 days (ngossip = 5284). Gossip senders frequently shared information about targets’ cooperativeness and did so in ways that minimize potential retaliation from targets. Receivers overwhelmingly believed gossip to be true and updated their evaluation of targets based on gossip. In turn, a positive shift in the evaluation of a target was associated with higher intentions to help them in future interactions, and with lower intentions to avoid them in the future. Thus, gossip is used in daily life to impact and update reputations in a way that enables partner selection and indirect reciprocity.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling’.

From phubee to phubber: the transmission of phone snubbing behavior between marital partners

PurposeThe ubiquity of mobile phone use has generated a common phenomenon called phubbing, a reference to snubbing someone in social settings and instead concentrating on one's phone. Despite numerous adverse effects of phubbing argued in previous research, the group of phubbers is growing intensively. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential transmission of phubbing between marital partners to raise public awareness of the propagation of phubbing.Design/methodology/approachA two-wave study with a 3-month interval was conducted, using matched husband–wife data from 253 Chinese couples. Husbands and wives separately completed questionnaires about their spouses’ phubbing and their marital quality. The dyadic data analysis method was applied to test the research hypotheses.FindingsThe results confirm the transmission of phubbing and show a pronounced gender asymmetry in the process of phubbing transmission. Phubbing could be transmitted from wives to husbands, but not vice versa. Specifically, only wives' phubbing significantly undermine relationship quality, while relationship quality was negatively related to both husbands' phubbing and wives' phubbing.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanism of phubbing transmission and provide support for reciprocity theory and social role theory. Results can cause public attention to the transmissibility of phubbing and provide enlightenment on the management of personal phone behavior and offer insight into research on technology use in other types of interpersonal relationships.

The Position of Consideration in Nepal: A Study of Theories, Cases, and Laws

Lawful consideration is one of the essential elements of a valid contract. However, The National Civil Code, 2017 A.D. (2074 B.S.) has not included a definition of consideration, and it has not stated the necessity of consideration in Nepal in a particular section. Nevertheless, it seems that the Code has realized the importance of lawful consideration in the provisions of contracts of rent, wage and hire purchase. The Code has also stated unjust enrichment, under which one party should not enrich himself or herself at the cost of others or other’s property. Conversely, the now-repealed Contract Act, 2000, in its section 2(d), had defined consideration and stated that consideration must be lawful in section 13(k). In the cases decided by the Supreme Court of Nepal (Bhagwan Lal Shah v. Harka Lal Giri and Chitra Bahadur Karki; Proprietor of Manakamana Construction and Concerns Pvt. Ltd v. Maniram Aggrawal, Proprietor of Aggrawal Industries Pvt. Ltd.), the Supreme Court has issued the precedent stating the importance of consideration in Nepal in regard to Contract Act, 2000 which has now been repealed and replaced by The National Civil Code 2017. Additionally, different theories of the contract like bargain theory, realistic interpretation, theory of reciprocity, ‘nundum pactum’ theory and ‘no consideration no contract’ theory also emphasize the importance of consideration in Contract. Finally, this research paper has proven that consideration is essential in Nepal, thereby stating the theories of consideration, the legislative provisions, and the cases. Furthermore, the researcher came to the conclusion that the lawful consideration is essential in Nepal and it should be dealt with like oxygen to humans and whether written or not, must be implicitly understood. The word ‘consideration’ not explicitly being mentioned in law should not create confusion that a contract can happen without lawful consideration.

The spillover effects of different monetary incentive levels on health experts' free knowledge contribution behavior

PurposeUnderstanding health experts' online free knowledge contribution behavior is vital for promoting health knowledge and improving health literacy. This study focuses on the spillover effects of different monetary incentive levels on health experts' free knowledge contribution behavior.Design/methodology/approachIn 2016, Zhihu Live and Zhi Hu were launched as two types of paid knowledge products on Zhihu.com, a hybrid knowledge exchange platform. Focusing on the policy impact of launching Zhihu Live and Zhi Hu, this study uses the difference-in-differences model to analyze the heterogeneous spillover effects of high-yield and low-yield monetary incentives on health experts' free knowledge contribution behavior.FindingsIn the short term, the high-yield monetary incentive has positive spillover effects on the quantity and quality of free knowledge contribution while the low-yield monetary incentive generates opposite effects. In the long term, the effects of the high-yield monetary incentive remain significantly positive. The effect of the low-yield monetary incentive on the quantity of free knowledge contribution remains significantly negative, but its effect on the quality of free knowledge contribution is not significant.Originality/valueThis study combines theories of reciprocity and resource limitation to study the spillover effects of different monetary incentive levels on health experts' online behavior. The short-term and long-term effects of different monetary incentive levels on health experts' online behavior are also explored.

Sistem Perkawinan Adat Lamaholot Dalam Perspektif Antropologi Di Desa Watodiri, Kecamatan Ile Ape, Kabupaten Lembata, Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur

Marriage in general is closely related to the two foundations of community life, namelyculture and religion. Culture is a very important traditional wedding ceremony, because traditional marriage will still exist in a cultured society. The traditional marriage system of the Lamaholot ethnic group has a hereditary culture, namely the traditional marriage of belis bala. Belis bala is a sacred aspect for the Lamaholot ethnicity, where men cannot undermine a woman's dignity. This study aims to determine: (a) The perspective of the younger generation on the belis bala in the Lamaholot ethnic traditional marriage system and (b) the inculturation of the church towards the traditional Laamaholot ethnic marriage system. Supported by Marcel Mauss' theory of reciprocity in compiling this research and the research model was made with the type of qualitative research, including data collection by observation, interviews, literature study and data analysis to process research results. The results of this study indicate the perspective of the younger generation, namely, there are some of them who feel heavy belis bala and want relief, but some others consider the traditional marriage system of belis bala as a challenge for them to be able to have their idol girl. They still want to maintain this traditional belis bala marriage system. The church sees this as a tradition that must be maintained. The church follows the regulations made by the village government for the preservation of the belis bala marriage system.

Antecedents and consequences of customer flexibility: Establishing the link to firm competitive advantage

Flexibility has been recognized as a critical source of competitive advantage for firms operating in uncertain markets. Although various studies have examined the antecedents and consequences of this desirable attribute, limited studies have addressed the interplay between supplier and customer flexibility. This is a significant limitation in the flexibility literature considering the abundance of evidence indicating that supplier flexibility (SF) impacts customer-related phenomena, and customer flexibility (CF) impacts supplier-related phenomena. Considering the research indicating that suppliers' benevolence toward customers enhances CF toward the suppliers, we argue that SF has a positive impact on CF. In other words, we posit that when suppliers show flexibility toward their customers, those customers will reciprocate by showing flexibility toward those suppliers. This logic is grounded in the tenets of reciprocity theory. Moreover, using the resource-based view theory, we link these concepts to firm competitive advantage (FCA). Our findings allow us to derive noteworthy theoretical and practical implications, which we detail in the manuscript.

Generalized Generosity: How the Norm of Generalized Reciprocity Bridges Collective Forms of Social Exchange

This study examines the potential for small-scale acts of giving that are not directly reciprocated, or generalized generosities, to build social bonds and promote contributions to the group. Social exchange theorists define such acts as generalized exchange. The potential for generalized exchange to build strong social bonds relative to other forms of exchange is the subject of theoretical debate. In this article, I build on two prominent theories of social exchange—affect theory and the theory of reciprocity—to propose that a strong norm of generalized reciprocity may bridge the connective benefits of generalized exchange with the connective benefits of productive exchange, which is a collaborative form of social exchange that involves sharing pooled resources. I argue that a strong norm of generalized reciprocity will activate mechanisms theorized to build strong social bonds in generalized and productive exchange systems, and will promote additional behavioral investments into the group. I test my argument with a controlled laboratory experiment, finding strong support for the proposed causal model. The results of this study have implications for research on generosity, collective action, collaboration, sense of community, and social capital.

2D Gauss-Newton full waveform inversion of SH- and Love-waves in the time domain

Full waveform inversion (FWI) has become a popular and efficient tool for near-surface site characterization. SH- and Love-wave inversion has recently gained attention due to the good sensitivity to mass density and S-wave velocity and the computing advantage over Rayleigh-wave inversion. In this study, we present a new time-domain Gauss-Newton FWI (GN-FWI) method of SH- and Love-waves to extract both mass density and S-wave velocity of soil and rock. The advantage of Gauss-Newton optimization is that the inverse of the regularized Hessian matrix filters, balances, and regularizes the gradient vector to reduce shallow artifacts and resolve deeper structures. To overcome the main challenge of Gauss-Newton approach as high computing demand, we derive analytical formula to compute Jacobian matrix efficiently based on the virtual source and reciprocity theory. The presented method is demonstrated on realistic synthetic and field experiments. The synthetic experiment indicates that the method can characterize a challenging reverse profile with four variable layers of high and low mass density and S-wave velocity. The density and S-wave velocity values and layer interfaces are recovered. The field experiment reveals an 18-m depth subsurface profile, which includes a softer soil layer underlain by stiffer weathered limestone layer. Comparing to invasive Standard Penetration Tests (SPT), the trends of both density and S-wave velocity generally agree with the SPT N-values, including a weak soil zone and weathered limestone. To our best understanding, this is the first study of Gauss-Newton FWI on SH- and Love-waves at any scales.

A moderated mediation analysis of the relationship between a high-stakes English test and test takers\u2019 extracurricular English learning activities

This study investigated the relationship between a large-scale and high-stakes English test and test takers’ learning behavior. Specifically, it explored whether and how the National Matriculation English Test (NMET) influenced test takers’ extracurricular English learning activities under the Chinese Mainland educational context. Based on Bandura’s triadic reciprocal determinism theory, this study proposed a distal mediation model and employed covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling to test the model. The data were collected via a cross-sectional survey with 470 test takers. The results showed that test takers’ perceptions of the examination exerted direct and indirect effects on their extracurricular English learning activities, and that test takers’ perceived self-efficacy for self-regulated learning and academic achievement were two important factors mediating the relationship between their perceptions of the test and extracurricular learning. Furthermore, test takers’ perceptions of the exam-approaching have diverse moderating effects on different mediation effects. This study suggests that introducing the triadic reciprocal determinism theory helps understand how an examination influences learning. It also highlights the role of test takers’ perceptions of an examination and their perceived self-efficacy in predicting a test’s impact on learning.

Pluriversal planning scholarship: Embracing multiplicity and situated knowledges in community-based approaches

In recent years, emerging work from the “southern” and “south/eastern” contexts has widened the theoretical discussion and the geographical focus of the contemporary planning debate. Inspired by Arturo Escobar’s notion of the “Pluriverse,” this article proposes a “pluriversal planning scholarship,” to articulate the theoretical and community-based contributions of an evolving stream of planning research that embraces multiplicity, coexistence, and critical thinking. Through a review of over 300 publications in top planning journals, we suggest that pluriversal scholars engage in creative methodologies to do community-based work. They contribute to extending planning theory by drawing from other fields, such as Black feminism, decolonial thought, and Indigenous studies to highlight the everyday experiences and resistances of residents despite a state that is failing them. Additionally, they actively contribute to community-based work through reciprocal theory development with community members, capacity building, and visibilizing residents’ stories when appropriate.

Type synthesis of plane-symmetric deployable grasping parallel mechanisms using constraint force parallelogram law

Type synthesis methods of parallel mechanisms or metamorphic mechanisms have drawn rising interest for mechanism designers. However, existing synthesis approaches cannot synthesize both parallel mechanisms and metamorphic mechanisms. This paper develops a synthesis method of metamorphic mechanisms, which enables it to construct a family of 2-degree-of-freedom (DOF) deployable grasping parallel mechanisms. Namely, the originality of this paper is that it explores a common synthesis method for both parallel mechanisms and metamorphic mechanisms. First, a new type of grasping sub-mechanisms is designed. Then, a kinematic sub-chain is constructed after assembly of a base, a platform, and the grasping sub-mechanism, whose constraint-screw system is obtained using reciprocal screw theory. This constraint-screw system is further applied to derive the desired constraints of auxiliary sub-mechanisms using the constraint force parallelogram law. Subsequently, auxiliary sub-mechanisms are type synthesized based on such desired constraints. Finally, a class of parallel mechanisms is constructed by assembling the auxiliary and the kinematic sub-chain. Thus, this paper and related work generate fresh insight into synthesizing both single-DOF metamorphic mechanisms and 2-DOF parallel mechanisms.

How Chinese Teach Mathematics: Canadian Teachers’ Perspectives

As part of a large reciprocal learning partnership project between Canada and China, this study explored Canadian teachers’ perceptions of mathematics teaching in elementary schools in China. Using reciprocal learning and Activity Theory as the theoretical lens, we collected data, i.e., classroom observations, group discussion, and informal exchanges from teachers in a pair of research sister-schools in Canada and China. Qualitative data analyses revealed four themes in Canadian teachers’ perceptions of the characteristics of Chinese mathematics teaching: an active teacher-student interaction model of questioning-responding, a mathematical knowledge-package summary at the end of each lesson, integration of the history of mathematics into teaching, and the development and implementation of well-structured lessons. Contributions, implications, and limitations of the study in mathematics education and research are discussed.

Courtesy calls for reciprocity: Appointment of uncertificated independent directors in China

AbstractResearch Question/IssueUsing regulatory qualification requirements for being an independent director in China, we examine the effect of explicit norms of reciprocity between uncertificated independent directors (UIDs), who are not qualified at the beginning of their appointment, and insiders.Research Findings/InsightsWe find that UIDs are less likely to cast dissenting votes after their appointment, especially after they are qualified, and that firms with UIDs exhibit more expropriation and information opacity. Our main results are robust to alternative explanations and endogeneity tests.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsOur study contributes to the literature on reciprocity theory by presenting a new reciprocity norm under the rules of ID qualification and documenting that independent directors who highly value board appointment reciprocate with less independence.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsThis study offers insights to policy makers regarding how to effectively establish and enhance regulations for qualification for independent directors throughout the world.

A New Reciprocal Teaching Approach for Information Literacy Education under the Background of Big Data

The library is an important platform for readers to acquire information, and also shoulders the responsibility to cultivate readers’ information literacy. How to enhance information literacy is a public service issue that warrants prompt solution. In this study, we establish a reciprocal teaching mode composed of four elements: teacher, student, learning content and interaction-supporting platform, based on the reciprocal teaching theory, in combination with the characteristics of information literacy training in information-based libraries, uses virtual reality (VR) technology to produce verisimilar teaching resources and build a virtual reading environment and a virtual reading community, to enable readers to discuss, read and evaluate under a dynamic reading mode. Meanwhile, a new reciprocal teaching technique of “Rain Classroom” is also introduced innovatively. We first conduct a quantitative evaluation on information literacy using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, then verify and correct the evaluation results using data mining technology, so that objective and accurate results can be obtained for the evaluation of readers’ information literacy. After the implementation of this library learning mode, through a questionnaire survey and analysis, it is concluded that the proposed mode can help the library spread knowledge, improve the effect of information literacy.

Why should I contribute my voice? Analysis of members' knowledge contribution behavior from a perspective of social distance

PurposeMembers' knowledge contribution behavior has positive significance for maintaining the activity of the knowledge community, as well as for improving knowledge interaction efficiency and member viscosity. With the development of the mobile Internet, knowledge communities based on social platforms have become more convenient and popular. This study aims to explore what and how factors influence members' knowledge contribution behavior in social knowledge communities from the perspective of social distance.Design/methodology/approachBased on the theory of reciprocity and on the theory of self-efficacy, hypotheses and research models are proposed. In the empirical study, WeChat learning group is selected as the research case. The empirical investigation (N = 244) collects research data through questionnaires.FindingsI-intention and we-intention both have positive influence on members' knowledge contribution behavior. Knowledge self-efficacy positively moderates the influence of we-intention and affects knowledge contribution behavior. In addition, I-intention is positively affected by expected knowledge benefit, expected emotional benefit and expected image benefit, while costs have no effect. We-intention is positively influenced by affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment in relationship strength, as well as affiliation to the contributing climate.Originality/valueThis paper aims to discuss I-intention, we-intention, and their roles in members' knowledge contribution behavior. It is a beneficial development for existing research to combine the characteristics of new style communities with systematical analysis of knowledge contribution behavior. Findings may provide enlightenment to the social knowledge community on diversity development and differentiated marketing strategies.