Generalised exchange orientation: a new construct and its antecedents and consequences

Yoshikawa, Katsuhiko (2017) Generalised exchange orientation: a new construct and its antecedents and consequences. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Preview

Text - Submitted Version Download (13MB) | Preview

Abstract

Although generalised exchange has been considered to be a key ingredient of organisational social capital, it has attracted limited attention in the organisational behaviour (OB) literature. Drawing upon studies of generalised exchange in a wide range of social science disciplines and social exchange research in the OB literature, I aim to answer a key question about generalised exchange: why do some people and not others engage in generalised exchange? In this thesis, I propose that the rule of collective reciprocity is the fundamental regulating mechanism of generalised exchange and introduce the concept of generalised exchange orientation (GEO) – individuals’ beliefs in favour of the rule – as an individual characteristic that motivates individuals to engage in generalised exchange. I create a theoretical framework on the antecedents and consequences of GEO and conduct three empirical studies to examine the propositions. In the first study, I develop and validate scales to measure GEO and orientations to other forms of social exchange. The results support the new scales’ validity and their measurement invariance between the United States and Japan. The second study is to analyse the antecedents of GEO and indicates that task interdependence and depersonalised trust promote GEO over time. The third study involves analysing the impact of GEO on knowledge-sharing behaviours on an in-house online platform, and it shows that GEO promotes the behaviours, moderated by organisational identification. This evidence unpacks the micro-foundations of the occurrence of generalised exchange in organisations and provide insights into the development of individual orientation towards generalised exchange. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2017 Katsuhiko Yoshikawa
Library of Congress subject classification:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Sets:	Departments > Management
Supervisor:	Lee, Hyun-Jung and Wu, Chia-huei
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/3556

Actions (login required)

Record administration - authorised staff only