Multiplexity, Generalized Exchange and Cooperation in Organizations

Cooperation in an organization can be studied empirically by examining the routine transfers or exchanges among members of various kinds of resources. We argue that local regularities in the form of these transfers and exchanges shape the structure of cooperation. Using a case study of resource networks in a corporate law firm, we model the structure of cooperation in a specific work environment, one that is characterized by multifunctional and sometimes multidisciplinary work groups in which `status competition' is argued to be a particularly strong motivation driving participation. Specific statistical tools, p* models, are used to identify local regularities in the interplay between exchanges and transfers of three types of social resource (coworkers' goodwill, advice and friendship). We propose that these regularities help to provide structural solutions for the problems of collective participation and status competition in such organizations