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Weak Ties As A Liability

Author

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  • Beate Völker
  • Henk Flap

Abstract

Every institutional system ïnduces specific problems that have no standardized solutions for the people living in it. In this paper it is argued that people invest in relationships with certain others partly in order to solve these problems. Hence, the personal networks that result provide solutions to system-induced problems and they reflect the institutional environment. Personal networks of people living in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) during communism are examined, and social capital theory is used to explain why communism did not produce social integration. In a communist society like that of the former GDR, weak ties are a liability, not an asset. Therefore, GDR citizens trusted only people whom they knew well. Since people in the former GDR were acutely aware of political control and the damage potential of weak ties, they invested only cautiously in others. They kept their distance from strangers and all others whose trustworthiness was uncertain and discussed politics only with people whom they truly trusted (the `niche'). Yet the shortages of the command economy forced people to rely on weak informal ties to secure necessary goods and services. Personal networks in East Germany had two specialized parts each kept separate from the other, a division of labor that vanished after the fall of the Wall. Our hypotheses are tested using multilevel models and triad analyses with data collected in 1992 and 1994 from two random samples in Leipzig and Dresden ( n = 489). The first measurement focuses on the situation before the upheaval, the other the situation in 1994. Results show that during communism people indeed created `niches' consisting of dense, small networks of close relations with similar and trust-worthy others. Provision networks were maintained that were small, heterogeneous, and consisted of weak and uniplex ties. Furthermore, there was a relational `gap' between the niche and the provision network. These differences have gradually been vanishing since the fall of the Wall and with the political and economic unification of the former GDR and the former FRG.

Suggested Citation

  • Beate Völker & Henk Flap, 2001. "Weak Ties As A Liability," Rationality and Society, , vol. 13(4), pages 397-428, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:13:y:2001:i:4:p:397-428
    DOI: 10.1177/104346301013004001
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    Cited by:

    1. Elena Obukhova & George Lan, 2013. "Do Job Seekers Benefit from Contacts? A Direct Test with Contemporaneous Searches," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(10), pages 2204-2216, October.
    2. Hilde Coffé & Tanja Lippe, 2010. "Citizenship Norms in Eastern Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 96(3), pages 479-496, May.
    3. Simone Cremaschi & Carlo Devillanova, 2016. "Immigrants and Legal Status: Do Personal Contacts Matter?," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1629, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    4. Bodin, Örjan & Crona, Beatrice I., 2008. "Management of Natural Resources at the Community Level: Exploring the Role of Social Capital and Leadership in a Rural Fishing Community," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 2763-2779, December.
    5. Juan José Barrios, 2011. "Existence of non-profit organizations in the United States of America," Documentos de Investigación 68, Universidad ORT Uruguay. Facultad de Administración y Ciencias Sociales.
    6. Boenisch, Peter & Schneider, Lutz, 2013. "The social capital legacy of communism-results from the Berlin Wall experiment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 391-411.
    7. Lenore Newman & Ann Dale, 2007. "Homophily and Agency: Creating Effective Sustainable Development Networks," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 79-90, February.
    8. Stocké, Volker, 2005. "Determinanten und Konsequenzen von Nonresponse in egozentrierten Netzwerkstudien," Papers 05-24, Sonderforschungsbreich 504.
    9. Scott Gehlbach, 2006. "A Formal Model of Exit and Voice," Rationality and Society, , vol. 18(4), pages 395-418, November.
    10. Pařil Vilém & Viturka Milan & Rederer Václav, 2023. "The change of commuting behaviour with planned high-speed railways in Czechia," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 23(1), pages 1-13, March.
    11. Juan José Barrios, 2011. "Participation in voluntary organizations," Documentos de Investigación 70, Universidad ORT Uruguay. Facultad de Administración y Ciencias Sociales.
    12. Silvia Cantele & Silvia Vernizzi & Francesca Ricciardi, 2016. "The emerging wave of agility-oriented business networks in Italy: a new strategy for facing global competition," World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(2/3), pages 270-284.

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