Social exchange theory has provided the dominant basis for understanding exchange relationships in organizational settings. Despite its predominance within the management field, there are a number of unaddressed issues. This special issue seeks to further social exchange research in work settings. We differentiate social from economic exchange and highlight the moderating role of cultural and individual differences in explaining the outcomes associated with social exchange relationships. We introduce the ideas of content, process, and mixed models of exchange to reflect the different emphases given to the amount and type of resources exchanged, the quality of the relationship, and a combination of both. The five papers in this special issue illustrate these models. We discuss the applicability of social exchange theory across cultural contexts and present suggestions for future research.

Using a social exchange perspective and responding to prior calls to separate resources exchanged from the relationship between parties, we develop a relationship typology based on rights and responsibilities arguments. We begin with the idea that various levels and types of rights and responsibilities are the exchange currency utilized by the employer and employee, respectively. Further, the degree to which an organization grants rights to an individual and the degree to which the individual voluntarily accepts responsibilities results in four distinct organizational membership profiles (i.e., peripheral, associate, detached, and full). We believe this membership typology is an important theoretical mechanism that may be used to link the exchange between the employee and employer (as represented by psychological contracts) to psychological attachment (as represented by perceived membership) between these two parties. Specifically, members in each profile will tend to have certain kinds of psychological attachments to the organization, causing them to (i) perceive membership in certain ways and (ii) behave in a manner consistent with that perception. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the propositions for both researchers and practitioners, as well as making suggestions for future research efforts.

This study concerns balance in exchange relationships as described in the psychological contract literature about employees’ and employers’ promises and fulfilment of these promises. Balance is investigated, firstly, in relation to temporary versus permanent employment and, secondly, in relation to employees’ attitudes (fairness, job satisfaction, and intention to quit). Analyses were based on a Dutch sample of 290 temporary and 489 permanent workers. Regarding balance in mutual promises, we found that temporary workers were more likely to have psychological contracts with few mutual promises than permanent workers, while permanent workers were more likely to have psychological contracts with many mutual promises compared to temporary workers. Regarding balance in the fulfilment of promises, we found the opposite pattern, namely, that fulfilment was higher in temporary workers compared to permanent workers. Furthermore, only mutual high fulfilment of promises was associated with higher job satisfaction and fairness and with lower intentions to quit.

Based on social exchange theory, we propose and test the mediating role of formal and informal contracts in linking cooperation characteristics of prior ties and shared values among partners to cooperation success in the public—private partnership context. Results from a survey of 244 partners in public—private partnerships in the medical and healthcare fields in China revealed that both formal and informal contracts mediate the relationship between cooperation characteristics and cooperation success. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications for public-private partnership research and practice with a specific focus on the Chinese context.

We develop a three-dimensional concept of supervisor-subordinate guanxi. This concept includes affective attachment, personal-life inclusion, and deference to supervisor. Based on this concept, we conducted three studies to develop and validate a three-dimensional supervisor-subordinate guanxi measure and to examine its relationship with related constructs, such as leader-member exchange. Results from Study 1 and Study 2 provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity of the scale, while Study 3 demonstrates the scale's incremental validity and replicates results from Study 2. Furthermore, in Study 3, we found that the three dimensions of supervisor-subordinate guanxi had different significant effects on commitment, turnover intention, and procedural justice, providing further evidence of criterion-related validity. Overall, these empirical results provide support for our three-dimensional model of supervisor-subordinate guanxi.

This study presents and tests a framework that links leader—member exchange (LMX) with two different forms of employee–organization exchange: organizational social exchange and organizational economic exchange. We propose that these two forms of employee exchange with the organization would be the main mechanisms through which LMX affects employees’ affective commitment and intention to leave. We used structural equation modelling to analyze the data collected from 239 employees in a foreign-invested enterprise in China. Results showed that both organizational social exchange and organizational economic exchange acted as full mediators in the relationships between LMX and the two outcome variables but in different directions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.