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Elementary theory predicts that the distribution of power will vary as the type of connection varies. Previous research supporting that prediction has shown that power in unilateral monopolies is centralized when the central position is connected exclusively and decentralized when the central position is connected inclusively. Here we extend the theory to networks with compound inclusion-exclusion connections. The theory predicts that exclusion will overwhelm inclusion and that power will be centralized as it is in purely exclusionary structures. Preliminary experimental support is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article adds to the body of findings on how network position and the conditions of exchange influence an actor's power to obtain favorable outcomes. Four network structures of four persons each are examined in each of two experimental settings: a face-to-face setting, in which negotiations are carried out directly, and the ExNet setting, in which negotiations are carried out through a microcomputer-based electronic network. The structures are selected to provide further tests of the Markovsky et al. `s (1988) procedure for locating power positions. The different settings allow an assessment of the scope of their analysis. The results generally support their predictions. Also examined are two types of predictions. contingency and value, derived from the operant basis of Emerson's (1969) power-dependence theory. The contingency predictions receive more support than do the value predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new millennium opens the third decade of work on network exchange theory. During two decades of continuous growth, the program has been tested as intensively and extensively as any in sociology. This article summarizes existing research and describes new directions. First, we describe basic network connections and recently discovered structural power conditions that sharply affect exchange ratios. Then we show how game theory enhances understanding of collective action in exchange networks. Two new research programs link network exchange theory to status characteristics theory: the first demonstrates that power produces status, and the second shows how status value produces power. Finally, we discuss how questions about network dynamics, complexity, and legitimation define paths for future theory growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]