The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year.
Exchange and Power in Social Life
Abstract
In his landmark study of exchange and power in social life, Peter M. Blau contributes to an understanding of social structure by analyzing the social processes that govern the relations between individuals and groups. The basic question that Blau considers is: How does social life become organized into increasingly complex structures of associations among humans.This analysis, first published in 1964, represents a pioneering contribution to the sociological literature. Blau uses concepts of exchange, reciprocity, imbalance, and power to examine social life and to derive the more complex processes in social structure from the simpler ones. The principles of reciprocity and imbalance are used to derive such processes as power, changes in group structure; and the two major forces that govern the dynamics of complex social structures: the legitimization of organizing authority of increasing scope and the emergence of oppositions along different lines producing conflict and change.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies
Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926 · Cited by 23,066
Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology
Portes, A. (1998) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1 · Cited by 12,037
The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/002224299405800302 · Cited by 22,355
Developing buyer-seller relationships
Dwyer, F. R., Schurr, P. H., & Oh, S. (1987) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/002224298705100202 · Cited by 9,139
Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept
Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S.-W. (2002) · The Academy of Management Review · doi:10.2307/4134367 · Cited by 9,665
Perceived organizational support.
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.500 · Cited by 10,023
Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure
Hochschild, A. R. (1979) · American Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1086/227049 · Cited by 5,962
Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership
Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.001 · Cited by 5,478
Ethical leadership: A review and future directions
Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.004 · Cited by 4,029
Social Capital, Networks, and Knowledge Transfer
Inkpen, A. C., & Tsang, E. W. K. (2005) · Academy of Management Review · doi:10.5465/amr.2005.15281445 · Cited by 3,864
Embeddedness and Immigration: Notes on the Social Determinants of Economic Action
Portes, A., & Sensenbrenner, J. (1993) · American Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1086/230191 · Cited by 3,493
Emerson, R. M. (1976) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev.so.02.080176.002003 · Cited by 3,457
Moorman, R. H. (1991) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037//0021-9010.76.6.845 · Cited by 3,422
A Relational Model of Authority in Groups
Tyler, T. R., & Lind, E. A. (1992) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60283-x · Cited by 2,977
Rempel, J. K., Holmes, J. G., & Zanna, M. P. (1985) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.49.1.95 · Cited by 3,146
Dwivedi, Y. K., Ismagilova, E., Hughes, D. L., Carlson, J., Filieri, R., Jacobson, J., Jain, V., Karjaluoto, H., Kefi, H., Krishen, A. S., et al. (2021) · International Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102168 · Cited by 4,608
The four elementary forms of sociality: Framework for a unified theory of social relations.
Fiske, A. P. (1992) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.99.4.689 · Cited by 2,510
Podsakoff, N. P., Whiting, S. W., Podsakoff, P. M., & Blume, B. D. (2009) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0013079 · Cited by 2,356
Gefen, D., & Straub, D. W. (2004) · Omega · doi:10.1016/j.omega.2004.01.006 · Cited by 2,025
Relational leadership theory: exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing
Uhl-Bien, M. (2006) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.007 · Cited by 1,973
Proctor, E. K., Landsverk, J., Aarons, G., Chambers, D., Glisson, C., & Mittman, B. (2009) · Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research · doi:10.1007/s10488-008-0197-4 · Cited by 1,894
Servant Leadership: A systematic review and call for future research
Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.004 · Cited by 1,858
“Social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) is based on the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960) in which servant leaders and their followers provide valued resources and support in exchange for resources and support received from the dyadic partner.”
BackgroundThe social control of impersonal trust
Shapiro, S. P. (1987) · American Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1086/228791 · Cited by 1,725
New directions in equity research.
Walster, E., Berscheid, E., & Walster, G. W. (1973) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0033967 · Cited by 1,649
Dulebohn, J. H., Bommer, W. H., Liden, R. C., Brouer, R. L., & Ferris, G. R. (2012) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/0149206311415280 · Cited by 1,625
How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model
Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. (. (2009) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.04.002 · Cited by 1,598
Colquitt, J. A., Scott, B. A., Rodell, J. B., Long, D. M., Zapata, C. P., Conlon, D. E., & Wesson, M. J. (2013) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0031757 · Cited by 1,462
Treviño, L. K., Brown, M., & Hartman, L. P. (2003) · Human Relations · doi:10.1177/0018726703056001448 · Cited by 1,372
What drives social commerce: The role of social support and relationship quality
Liang, T.-P., Ho, Y.-T., Li, Y.-W., & Turban, E. (2011) · International Journal of Electronic Commerce · doi:10.2753/jec1086-4415160204 · Cited by 1,254
Awad, N. F., & Krishnan, M. S. (2006) · MIS Quarterly · doi:10.2307/25148715 · Cited by 1,252
Leader-member exchange and citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis
Ilies, R., Nahrgang, J. D., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.269 · Cited by 1,210
Is the desire for status a fundamental human motive? A review of the empirical literature.
Anderson, C., Hildreth, J. A. D., & Howland, L. (2015) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0038781 · Cited by 1,133
From creativity to innovation: The social network drivers of the four phases of the idea journey
Perry-Smith, J. E., & Mannucci, P. V. (2017) · Academy of Management Review · doi:10.5465/amr.2014.0462 · Cited by 1,121
Walumbwa, F. O., & Schaubroeck, J. (2009) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0015848 · Cited by 1,114
Kirkman, B. L., Chen, G., Farh, J.-L., Chen, Z. X., & Lowe, K. B. (2009) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.5465/amj.2009.43669971 · Cited by 1,094
Predicting voice behavior in work groups.
LePine, J. A., & Van Dyne, L. (1998) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.83.6.853 · Cited by 1,192
The dark side of buyer–supplier relationships: A social capital perspective⋆
Villena, V. H., Revilla, E., & Choi, T. Y. (2011) · Journal of Operations Management · doi:10.1016/j.jom.2010.09.001 · Cited by 1,018
Hassanein, K., & Head, M. (2007) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2006.11.018 · Cited by 986
Hollebeek, L. D., & Macky, K. (2019) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2018.07.003 · Cited by 978
Walumbwa, F. O., Hartnell, C. A., & Oke, A. (2010) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0018867 · Cited by 940
Psychological Ownership: Theoretical Extensions, Measurement, and Relation to Work Outcomes
Avey, J. B., Avolio, B. J., Crossley, C. D., & Luthans, F. (2009) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.583 · Cited by 920
Uncertainty management by means of fairness judgments
van den Bos, K., & Lind, E. A. (2002) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(02)80003-x · Cited by 913
Antecedents and outcomes of abusive supervision: test of a trickle-down model.
Aryee, S., Chen, Z. X., Sun, L.-Y., & Debrah, Y. A. (2007) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.191 · Cited by 914
Umphress, E. E., Bingham, J. B., & Mitchell, M. S. (2010) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0019214 · Cited by 873
A little thanks goes a long way: explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behavior
Grant, A. M., & Gino, F. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0017935 · Cited by 870
Kalshoven, K., Den Hartog, D. N., & De Hoogh, A. H. B. (2011) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.12.007 · Cited by 824
Customer engagement with tourism social media brands
Harrigan, P., Evers, U., Miles, M., & Daly, T. (2017) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.015 · Cited by 813
Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) and Performance: A Meta‐Analytic Review
Martin, R., Guillaume, Y., Thomas, G., Lee, A., & Epitropaki, O. (2016) · Personnel Psychology · doi:10.1111/peps.12100 · Cited by 809
Beldad, A., de Jong, M., & Steehouder, M. (2010) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010.03.013 · Cited by 754
First‐time mothers: social support, maternal parental self‐efficacy and postnatal depression
Leahy‐Warren, P., McCarthy, G., & Corcoran, P. (2012) · Journal of Clinical Nursing · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03701.x · Cited by 710
Servant leadership: Validation of a short form of the SL-28
Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., Meuser, J. D., Hu, J., Wu, J., & Liao, C. (2015) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.12.002 · Cited by 712
Abusive supervision: A meta-analysis and empirical review
Mackey, J. D., Frieder, R. E., Brees, J. R., & Martinko, M. J. (2017) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/0149206315573997 · Cited by 706
A meta-analytic review of ethical leadership outcomes and moderators
Bedi, A., Alpaslan, C. M., & Green, S. (2016) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-015-2625-1 · Cited by 698
Leadership behavior and employee well-being: An integrated review and a future research agenda
Inceoglu, I., Thomas, G., Chu, C., Plans, D., & Gerbasi, A. (2018) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.12.006 · Cited by 670
Research on Gossip: Taxonomy, Methods, and Future Directions
Foster, E. K. (2004) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/1089-2680.8.2.78 · Cited by 671
Awad, N. F., & Ragowsky, A. (2008) · Journal of Management Information Systems · doi:10.2753/mis0742-1222240404 · Cited by 648
Health Promoting Effects of Friends and Family on Health Outcomes in Older Adults
Seeman, T. E. (2000) · American Journal of Health Promotion · doi:10.4278/0890-1171-14.6.362 · Cited by 634
A review of loneliness: concept and definitions, determinants and consequences
Gierveld, J. D. J. (1998) · Reviews in Clinical Gerontology · doi:10.1017/s0959259898008090 · Cited by 632
Lemoine, G. J., Hartnell, C. A., & Leroy, H. (2019) · Academy of Management Annals · doi:10.5465/annals.2016.0121 · Cited by 614
Eby, L. T. D. T., Allen, T. D., Hoffman, B. J., Baranik, L. E., Sauer, J. B., Baldwin, S., Morrison, M. A., Kinkade, K. M., Maher, C. P., Curtis, S., et al. (2013) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0029279 · Cited by 604
Pavlou, P. A., & Gefen, D. (2005) · Information Systems Research · doi:10.1287/isre.1050.0065 · Cited by 580
Hunter, E. M., Neubert, M. J., Perry, S. J., Witt, L. A., Penney, L. M., & Weinberger, E. (2013) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.12.001 · Cited by 573
Hu, J., & Liden, R. C. (2011) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0022465 · Cited by 563
Liu, W., Zhu, R., & Yang, Y. (2010) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.10.014 · Cited by 555
Trust, Connectivity, and Thriving: Implications for Innovative Behaviors at Work
CARMELI, A., & SPREITZER, G. M. (2009) · The Journal of Creative Behavior · doi:10.1002/j.2162-6057.2009.tb01313.x · Cited by 551
Newman, A., Schwarz, G., Cooper, B., & Sendjaya, S. (2017) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-015-2827-6 · Cited by 552
Chiniara, M., & Bentein, K. (2016) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.08.004 · Cited by 544
The Dynamics of Interorganizational Coordination
de Ven, A. H. V., & Walker, G. (1984) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2392941 · Cited by 532
Dutton, J. E., Workman, K. M., & Hardin, A. E. (2014) · Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091221 · Cited by 513
Harris, K. J., Kacmar, K. M., & Zivnuska, S. (2007) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.03.007 · Cited by 487
Leader–member exchange (LMX) and culture: A meta-analysis of correlates of LMX across 23 countries
Rockstuhl, T., Dulebohn, J. H., Ang, S., & Shore, L. M. (2012) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0029978 · Cited by 477
Shiau, W.-L., & Luo, M. M. (2012) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.07.030 · Cited by 471
Alexandrov, A., Lilly, B., & Babakus, E. (2013) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-012-0323-4 · Cited by 448
LMX differentiation: A multilevel review and examination of its antecedents and outcomes
Henderson, D. J., Liden, R. C., Glibkowski, B. C., & Chaudhry, A. (2009) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.04.003 · Cited by 428
Well, I’m tired of tryin’! Organizational citizenship behavior and citizenship fatigue
Bolino, M. C., Hsiung, H.-H., Harvey, J., & LePine, J. A. (2015) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0037583 · Cited by 430
Braganza, A., Chen, W., Canhoto, A., & Sap, S. (2021) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.018 · Cited by 431
“Employee engagement and job engagement are interchangeably-used terms, generally defined as employee outcomes that enhance organizational success with better financial gains (Bates, 2004; Richman, 2006).”
Social media: A contextual framework to guide research and practice.
McFarland, L. A., & Ployhart, R. E. (2015) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0039244 · Cited by 414
Relationships at Work: Toward a Multidimensional Conceptualization of Dyadic Work Relationships
Ferris, G. R., Liden, R. C., Munyon, T. P., Summers, J. K., Basik, K. J., & Buckley, M. R. (2009) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/0149206309344741 · Cited by 411
Huang, X., Iun, J., Liu, A., & Gong, Y. (2010) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.636 · Cited by 407
Lin, Z., Chen, Y., & Filieri, R. (2017) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2017.02.013 · Cited by 401
Linking justice, trust and innovative work behaviour to work engagement
A. Agarwal, U. (2014) · Personnel Review · doi:10.1108/pr-02-2012-0019 · Cited by 389
Chen, Z., Lam, W., & Zhong, J. A. (2007) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.202 · Cited by 380
Ethical leadership: Meta-analytic evidence of criterion-related and incremental validity.
Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2015) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0038246 · Cited by 377
Cullen, K. L., Edwards, B. D., Casper, W. C., & Gue, K. R. (2014) · Journal of Business and Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10869-013-9312-y · Cited by 377
Breuer, C., Hüffmeier, J., & Hertel, G. (2016) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/apl0000113 · Cited by 375
Thau, S., & Mitchell, M. S. (2010) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0020540 · Cited by 367
Innovative human resource practices and organizational commitment: an empirical investigation
Agarwala, T. (2003) · The International Journal of Human Resource Management · doi:10.1080/0958519021000029072 · Cited by 350
Lee, A., Lyubovnikova, J., Tian, A. W., & Knight, C. (2020) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12265 · Cited by 347
Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer.
Bem, D. J., & Honorton, C. (1994) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.115.1.4 · Cited by 330
The New Era Workplace Relationships: Is Social Exchange Theory Still Relevant?
Chernyak-Hai, L., & Rabenu, E. (2018) · Industrial and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1017/iop.2018.5 · Cited by 315
Gajendran, R. S., Harrison, D. A., & Delaney‐Klinger, K. (2015) · Personnel Psychology · doi:10.1111/peps.12082 · Cited by 310
Anderson, H. J., Baur, J. E., Griffith, J. A., & Buckley, M. R. (2017) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.08.001 · Cited by 302
Power, competitiveness, and advice taking: Why the powerful don’t listen
Tost, L. P., Gino, F., & Larrick, R. P. (2012) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.10.001 · Cited by 294
Signaling the Trustworthiness of Small Online Retailers
Wang, S., Beatty, S. E., & Foxx, W. (2004) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1002/dir.10071 · Cited by 287
Relationshopping: Investigating the market metaphor in online dating
Heino, R. D., Ellison, N. B., & Gibbs, J. L. (2010) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/0265407510361614 · Cited by 284
Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., Kraimer, M. L., & Sparrowe, R. T. (2003) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.208 · Cited by 284
Processing of the incentive for social approval in the ventral striatum during charitable donation
Izuma, K., Saito, D. N., & Sadato, N. (2010) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn.2009.21228 · Cited by 276
Long work hours: a social identity perspective on meta‐analysis data
Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2008) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.536 · Cited by 264
Ethical leadership: Mapping the terrain for concept cleanup and a future research agenda
Banks, G. C., Fischer, T., Gooty, J., & Stock, G. (2021) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101471 · Cited by 260
Cogliser, C. C., Schriesheim, C. A., Scandura, T. A., & Gardner, W. L. (2009) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.03.010 · Cited by 257
Metadata
- Authors
- Blau, P. M.
- Corresponding author
- Blau, Peter M.
- Venue
- Routledge eBooks
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Published
- 2017-09-29
- OpenAlex
- W2037710531
- Cited by
- 15,923
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 286 · 2025: 596 · 2024: 508 · 2023: 536 · 2022: 426 · 2021: 663 · 2020: 677 · 2019: 676 · 2018: 717 · 2017: 748
- FWCI
- 779.36
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Routledge eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Capital and Networks
- Keywords
- social exchange, power, reciprocity, unbalance, social structure, social organization, group structure, social conflict, social change
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review