Collaborative Research; Exchange Network Transition: Uncertainty, Risk and Shifts in Mode of Exchange

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SES-0617682PI: Karen S. CookInstitution: Stanford UniversitySES-0617706PI: Coye CheshireInstitution: UC-BerkeleySocial scientists have accumulated a large and growing body of theory and data on many distinct types of social exchange systems. It has been demonstrated through a long history of social exchange experiments that different forms of exchange yield different outcomes, to some extent as a function of the differences that exist in levels of risk and uncertainty inherent in these different forms of exchange. There is, however, little or no research on the process of transitioning between different modes of social exchange. This collaborative experimental research between Stanford University and UC-Berkeley, develops a set of theoretically driven arguments for social exchange systems that transition (or shift) between reciprocal exchange and binding or non-binding negotiated exchange (which is only one of the possible types of transition in modes of exchange). This study uses a new set of social exchange experiments with 4-6 person groups who interact across a computer-mediated network. Some of the specific hypotheses include: an increase in contributions to partners when the form of the exchange shifts exogenously from reciprocal to negotiated exchange, an increase in assessments of a given partner's trustworthiness in reciprocal exchange when it precedes negotiated exchange, and the decreased desire to initiate (endogenously) a shift from reciprocal to negotiated exchange as subjects experience increased levels of cooperation in the former mode of exchange.The broader impact of this proposed research includes the capacity to directly address questions about processes and outcomes in rapidly changing systems of exchange such as business-to-business transactions (B2B), Internet-based exchanges, and other forms of real-world social exchange. Furthermore, this research advances the theoretical tradition of social exchange processes by developing the first series of testable hypotheses concerning the effects of shifts between different modes of exchange and examining how individual attitudes and attributions about exchange partners change as a result of these transitions. Given increased interest in real-world systems of B2B and Internet-based exchange (which often challenge many assumptions about exchange processes, attributions, and outcomes), the opportunities for theoretical development and real-world applications of the study of transitions in modes of exchange are substantial.