Leaders and Ruling Elites: The Interorganizational Bases of Community Power

Abstract

Power can be viewed as a property of interorganizational ties, which can be described in terms of resource networks. The creation of these resource networks, which are essential for power, are found in the interlocks of executives with multiple organizational positions. When resource networks are used as the unit of analysis, persons identified as influentials can be viewed as interchangeable, thereby reducing dependence on methodologies using coincidence of persons as the measure of power. A comparison of interorganizational leaders with a matched sample of organizational leaders indicates that the former are more likely (1) to be identified as participants in past community issues; (2) to be identified as having a general reputation for power; (3) to exhibit greater value homophyly; and (4) to see each other socially. Interorganizational leaders in a common resource network exhibit these characteristics to an even greater degree. The isolation of a resource network, which exhibits other characteristics associated with power, leads to a test for the existence of a ruling elite.