Social Exchange Research Research Articles

Applying Social Exchange Theory to Police Deviance: Exploring Self-Protective Behaviors Among Police Officers

Social exchange theory is one of the prominent paradigms used to explain the processes linking organizational treatment of employees to their job performance. However, the theoretical link between perceived organizational treatment and police deviance has not been fully explored. This research addresses this gap by analyzing the relationship between perceptions of organizational justice and the use of police self-protective behaviors (SPBs) using organizational support and organizational indifference as ad hoc indicators of the social exchange process. Data were collected using an online self-report survey distributed to police officers in a southern state who are members of a police officer association ( n = 1,861). Consistent with previous social exchange research, the findings generally support the idea that fairness is related to SPBs, but largely to the extent that it enhances the social exchange in terms of increasing perceptions of organizational support and reducing perceptions of organizational indifference, which both directly affect an officer’s use of SPBs, and are a type of police deviance. Specific findings, relevant policy implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

Showing that you care. An integration of leader political skill, ethical leadership, and support

The goal of the presented research is to investigate and integrate organizational politics and behavioral ethics literature. Subsequently, we examine the relationship between leader political skill and ethical leadership over two studies. By drawing upon theoretical propositions rooted in ethical leadership and social exchange research, we demonstrate the unique impact leader political skill has on ethical leadership. Remaining consistent with our social exchange framework, we also incorporate the role of perceived organizational support and first level outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

A Multilevel Analysis of Middle Manager Performance: The Role of CEO and Top Manager Leadership

Abstract We investigate the multilevel interactive effects that CEO leadership behaviours and top-level managers’ support have on middle managers’ performance in China. Our sample consists of 608 middle managers and 140 of their direct supervisors (top managers) from 40 companies. After controlling for middle managers’ demographic variables, hierarchical linear modelling analysis shows that when non-caring, authoritative, or task-oriented CEOs lead the organization, supportive top managers more positively enhance middle manager performance. Contributions to multilevel leader influences and social exchange research are discussed.

Resource characteristics in social exchange networks: Implications for positional advantage

Despite the wide range of resources that traverse social networks, social exchange research has focused on only a narrow subset. Notably, prior social exchange research has not considered resources like information that have the capacity to diffuse through networks. The current study investigates how differences between the standard social exchange resource and an information-type resource affect the advantage provided by one's network position. Results of a laboratory experiment support predictions and offer two new insights to the foundations of positional advantage: (1) the location of advantageous positions in a network differs by resource characteristics, and (2) only in particular situations is a single position able to experience high levels of both power and exchange frequency.

Social Exchange in Work Settings: Content, Process, and Mixed Models

Social exchange theory has provided the dominant basis for understanding exchange relationships in organizational settings. Despite its predominance within the management field, there are a number of unaddressed issues. This special issue seeks to further social exchange research in work settings. We differentiate social from economic exchange and highlight the moderating role of cultural and individual differences in explaining the outcomes associated with social exchange relationships. We introduce the ideas of content, process, and mixed models of exchange to reflect the different emphases given to the amount and type of resources exchanged, the quality of the relationship, and a combination of both. The five papers in this special issue illustrate these models. We discuss the applicability of social exchange theory across cultural contexts and present suggestions for future research.

Votes, Favors, Toys, and Ideas: The Effect of Resource Characteristics on Power in Exchange Networks

The goal of this research is to understand how resource characteristics influence the development of power in exchange networks. Transferability and duplicability are identified as fundamental resource characteristics that have not been examined systematically in prior social exchange research. Varying resource transferability and duplicability alters the mechanisms that produce power and determine which positions in a network have a power advantage. To predict where power will develop, I rely on existing measures for previously studied resources and introduce relevant principles of network structure for resources that have not been studied before. This theoretical logic is supported by a series of simulated exchange networks that apply behavioral principles observed in prior experimental research to the exchange of a broader variety of resources than previously considered. Results indicate how the pattern of power use in a network is contingent upon the type of resource being exchanged.

Social Exchanges Within Organizations and Work Outcomes

Social exchange research has focused primarily on employee relationships with supervisors and with the organization to explain employee in-role and extra-role behaviors. This article extends the understanding of social exchange by exploring two additional exchanges (employee relationships with top management and with employees in other work areas) and examine all four social exchanges’ effects on work behaviors. It also extends notions of employee performance to include employee involvement in organizational improvement efforts. Data collected in a field study of 129 supervisor-subordinate dyads suggest that local (interpersonal exchanges with supervisors and colleagues in other work areas) and global (exchanges with top management and the organization)foci have different effects on work performance and that local social exchanges have a greater influence on work outcomes than global social exchanges.

The Workplace Social Exchange Network

In this article, the authors present a framework (the Workplace Social Exchange Network) that draws from multiple streams of social exchange research. The authors attempt to provide an integrative, cross-level theory for understanding the diverse social exchanges that occur in the work-place. Within the workplace, there are a number of social exchanges that may take place between an individual and (a) the organization, (b) their supervisor, and (c) their work group. Surprisingly, researchers have overlooked the influence of social exchanges between employees and their work groups. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first article that collectively discusses the influences and interactions between the three predominate social exchange domains. In addition, the authors provide testable propositions that specify relationships between domains of exchange relationships, moderating organizational factors, and employee outcomes.

Safety-related behavior as a social exchange: The role of perceived organizational support and leader–member exchange.

Researchers have been giving increased attention to the role larger organizational variables play in safety and accidents. Although generally neglected by this research, the nature of the exchange relationships between individuals, leaders, and the organization appears to have safety-related implications. The present research linked leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived organizational support (POS) to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Data were collected from 49 supervisor-group-leader dyads in a manufacturing facility. The results indicated that POS was significantly related to safety communication and that LMX was significantly related to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Support was also found for a structural model linking POS and LMX to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Implications of these findings for safety and social exchange research are outlined.