Social exchange theory: Systematic review and future directions

Abstract

Social exchange theory (SET) is one of the most influential theories in social sciences, which has implications across various fields. Despite its usefulness being a typical social transaction, there is a need to look at it from the lens of psychological transactions to further its evolution and to identify future directions. After generally reviewing 3,649 articles from the Social Science Citation Index and Scopus, a total of 46 articles were selected for final review using a comprehensive systematic review approach. We have highlighted the need for further research in psychological transactions, reciprocity principles, exchange relations, and the impact of various factors on the exchange process. Among other exchange rules (social, economic, and psychological) and transactions (social, economic, and psychological), this research provides an elevation platform for the less explored exchange rules in psychological transactions. Among other theories in the social sciences, social exchange theory is a theory that shadows many other theories under its umbrella.

The relationship between ethical leadership and nurse well‐being: The mediating role of workplace mindfulness

“…The results of this study showed that nurses' ratings of ethical leadership were positively correlated with nurses' well-being and workplace mindfulness in central China (r = .507, .376, p < .01), and the higher the ratings of ethical leadership, the better the nurses' well-being experience. Based on social exchange theory, it is known that when one party of the exchange benefits the behaviour of the other party, the other party tends to give more positive feedback (Ahmad et al, 2022).…”

“…The results of this study showed that nurses' ratings of ethical leadership were positively correlated with nurses' well‐being and workplace mindfulness in central China ( r = .507, .376, p < .01), and the higher the ratings of ethical leadership, the better the nurses' well‐being experience. Based on social exchange theory, it is known that when one party of the exchange benefits the behaviour of the other party, the other party tends to give more positive feedback (Ahmad et al, 2022). In the clinical work environment, because ethical leaders have the qualities of fairness, impartiality and honesty, they can provide clinical nurses with reasonable career development opportunities and give them affirmation, help and emotional support in their work to avoid unfair treatment, so they effectively improve nurses' sense of belonging and identity to the department, thus further improving their work enthusiasm and psychological experience (Houston et al, 2022).…”

“…Social exchange theory (SET) suggests that human (partial) behaviour is essentially an exchange activity, where people go and interact with others in order to get some kind of reward, and this exchange can be abstract or concrete (Markovsky & Cook, 1989). In social interaction, the activities of one party always affect the activities of the other, and when the interaction brings benefits to each, a common interest will arise; when the interaction between the two parties only brings benefits to one party, conflicts will arise along the way (Ahmad et al, 2022). The relationship among the three variables of ethical leadership, workplace mindfulness and well-being can also be explained within the framework of social exchange theory.…”

Customer relational benefit: A second‐order meta‐analysis and an alternative framework

“…We propose an alternative model that combines elements from Social Exchange Theory (Ahmad et al, 2023) and Commitment-Trust Theory (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). The Social Exchange Theory provides insights into the exchange of value between companies and consumers, focusing on perceived benefits, customer satisfaction and loyalty (Ahmad et al, 2023).…”

Family or otherwise: Exploring the impact of family motivation on job outcomes in collectivistic society

“…What makes a life meaningful is not simply a process of interaction but also participating in a cultural system that contains norms, values, and shared information. Social relationships and meanings are positively linked with each other (Baumeister, 2018;Ahmad et al, 2022). Islam (2004) proposes that in a collectivistic culture, people give priority to their families and perform activities on their behalf.…”