(1983). Research Round-Up. Connections, 6 (2) - INSNA

- 10 -SOCIAL RESOURCES AND SOCIAL ACTIONS : A PROGRESS REPORTNan Lin (Sociology, State University of New York at Albany)ABSTRACT . In the last few years, some of us have been involved in a research programattempting to link an individual's access and use of his/her network resources to outcomesof certain actions . Initially, the focus was on the use of such resources andinstrumental action . More recently, efforts have begun to extend the analysis to expressiveaction as well . In this brief report, I will introduce the theoretical underpinningsof the research program, empirical data gathered to examine various aspects ofthe theory, and some current work and thinkings about the theory . Because of the limitationof space, many references to earlier works by other scholars which have contributedto the development of the theory and research are omitted . The reader is advised to findcomplete citations in the references provided in the end of the essay .Social Resources and Instrumental ActionThe initial theory (Lin, 1982) concerns goal-oriented actions, those actions which are takento achieve a goal for the benefit of the individual who takes the action . This is the class ofactions which are defined as instrumental in nature . For example, looking for a good job, andsearching for a stranger in a community are such actions . Also, it only concerns those instrumentalactions which require the use of a personal contact . Under certain conditions, an instrumentalaction may be accomplished without going through a personal contact or any contact . Forexample, in a perfect market system, where all job vacancies and their required skills were knownto all who seek jobs, and where the recruitment of an applicant to fill the job depended entirelyon the matching of the required skills and the skills possessed by each candidate, then there wouldbe little need to use a contact ; direct application should accomplish it . Similarly, if thesearcher knew everyone else in the social system, there would be no need for him to go through acontact to locate someone . A contact becomes a requirement only when the searcher does not knowthe target person directly . Thus, the theory applies in an imperfect marker where the diffusionof the information about the goal is less than perfect, I am assuming this condition covers mostreal market situations .There are situations in which other than personal contacts are used as means in the instrumentalaction . For example, in seeking jobs, people do use employment agencies or read newspaperads . The present theory does not deal with these actions .The benefit of an individual in an instrumental action discussed here focuses on the resourcesvalued by the members in the social system . Resources are defined as valued goods in a society,however consensually determined, the possession of which maintains and promotes an individual'sself interest for survival and preservation . The resources may include both ascribed elements,such as sex and race, and acquired elements, such as prestige and authority . The values are normativejudgments rendered on these goods . For most societies, they correspond to wealth, statusand power . The theory focuses on those instrumental actions which are taken for the purpose ofgaining valued resources .The theory begins with an image of social structure consisting of a network of persons whosepositions are rank-ordered according to certain normatively valued resources such as wealth,status, and power . It further assumes that the structure has a pyramidal shape in terms of accessibilityand control of such resources . The higher the position, the fewer the occupants ; and thehigher the position, the better view it has of the structure (especially down below) . Both interms of number of occupants and accessibility to positions, the pyramidal structure suggestsadvantages of positions nearer to the top .A position nearer to the top of the structure has greater access to and control of thevalued resources not only because of more valued resources being intrinsically attached to theposition, but also because of the position's greater accessibility to positions at other (primarilylower) rankings . I define social resources as resources embedded in one's social network .They are not possessed goods of the individual . Rather, they are resources accessible throughone's direct and indirect ties (Lin, Vaughn, and Ensel, 1981) . Then, an individual occupying ahigher position, because of its accessibility to more positions, also has a greater command ofsocial resources .What is implied in such an image of the social structure, and of social resources, is thatthere is a direct relationship between the level of a position in the hierarchical structure andthe amount of influence it may exert on other (lower) positions for instrumental (obtaining additionalresources) purposes as well as the amount of information it possesses about the locations