Exchange Network (2024)

FAQs

What is the exchange network theory? ›

Exchange network theory explains how structure affects actors' behavior in exchange networks – social systems with two or more connected exchange relations (Emerson, 1972). A–B–C is an exchange network formed by connecting the A–B and B–C relations at B.

An exchange network consists of a set of actors linked through edges. The edges represent the possibility to exchange between the two connected actors.

The basic definition of social exchange theory open_in_new is that people make decisions by consciously or unconsciously measuring the costs and rewards of a relationship or action, ultimately seeking to maximize their reward.

Note that any balanced outcome clearly also is stable: each node clearly gets at least as much as its outside option, which is what the notion of stability requires.

According to social exchange theory, people will pursue relationships where rewards are greater than cost (net profit) and abandon those where costs are greater than profit (net loss). These profits can be measured in the short term or cumulatively. The value of costs and rewards is highly subjective.

In essence, individuals negotiate over resources in order to achieve some degree of balance and accommodation to each other. This relatively recent view of conflict has often used what is called an exchange theoretical orientation. Exchange theory is, in its essential details, a variation of conflict theory.

LAN (Local Area Network) MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) WAN (Wide Area Network)

Over time, exchanges have become cumulatively deeper, denser, and more intricate, linking more and more people over greater and greater distances. Exchanges on these networks has also taken place at greater and greater velocity.

Exchange, which is both a noun and a verb, comes from the Latin ex-, meaning "out" and cambiare, for "change" or "substitute." If you're traveling in Europe, you exchange U.S. Dollars for Euros. If you get a really awful outfit for your birthday present, you can go to the store and exchange it for one you like better.

Social exchange theory is a concept based on the idea that social behavior is the result of an exchange process. According to this theory, people weigh the potential benefits and risks of their social relationships. When the risks outweigh the rewards, they will terminate or abandon the relationship.

What is trust in social exchange theory? ›

From a social exchange lens, trust is conceptualized as an expectation that an exchange partner will behave benignly and not exploitatively based on inferences about the partner's traits and intentions.

With an high-level understanding of the three principles of social networks — balance, exchange, and betweenness — we can better understand the complex ways in which information travels through them.

Between 1450 and 1750, however, an entirely new trade route emerged and became the world's dominant network of exchange. The Atlantic System connected the old and new worlds in a triangular pattern across the ocean. A truly global system of trade was established.

Networking is the exchange of information and ideas among people with a common profession or special interest, often in an informal social setting.

What continuities in networks of exchange existed in relation to the 1200 to 1450 period? Peasants and artisans continued through this time. Additionally, the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean Trade remained important.

Summarize the social implications of networks of exchange in labor. The forms of labor from earlier periods continued- free peasant farmers, craft workers or artisans in cottage industries, people forced to work to pay off debts, and people forced into labor through enslavement.