WHO EXCHANGES WITH WHOM - STRUCTURAL DETERMINANTS OF EXCHANGE FREQUENCY IN NEGOTIATED EXCHANGE NETWORKS

Actors accumulate resources-wealth-in exchange networks by making freq uent and profitable exchanges. Network exchange reseal ch offers struc tural explanations for actors' differential earnings in particular exc hanges, but not far the differential frequency with which particular e xchanges occur. We address this deficiency by outlining and evaluating three explanations for exchange frequencies. We adapt the first two e xplanations, a random structure model and a random mutuality model, fr om existing theories of earnings differentials. The third model, a rec iprocity model, offers an explanation based on actors' structurally de termined tendencies to reciprocate the attention of others. The freque ncy with which various exchanges occur is conceptualized as a function of how actors' attempts to exchange with partners are biased by their locations and their partners' in the overall exchange network. Althou gh the reciprocity model generally provides the best fit, our results suggest that the explanatory power of structural factors varies consid erably between networks and settings.