Measures OJUE. Like acquisition utility, exchange
utility cannot be measured directly, but its presence
varies with (1) the strength ofthe social ties that bind
invitees with hostesses and demonstrators and (2) the
extent an invitee is previously obligated to her hostess.
These indicators capture two aspects ofthe inherent
value of a social tie to its members (i.e., its UE).
The first dimension, the enduring strength of a tie,
determines the social capital available. The greater
the social capital, the greater the returns on investment
and the greater the UE a buyer can obtain by
making an incremental investment in a social tie.
The second dimension of UE involves the degree
one partner is currently obligated to the other. In the
short term, members of dyads alternate between the
status of debtor and creditor as a result ofthe give and
take of social exchange. Norms of reciprocity motivate
the partner who is the net debtor to reciprocate
outstanding favors before requesting additional favors.
We thus expect the UE in a social tie to fluctuate
according to the level of outstanding obligation. In
other words, when one partner is obligated to another,
she is more likely to purchase and to spend
more on the purchase. Measures for these two UE constructs
are described below.
TieStrength. Granovetter (1973, p. 1361) defined
tie strength as "a (probably linear) combination ofthe
amount of time, the emotional intensity, the intimacy
(mutual confiding) and the reciprocal services
which characterize the tie." Marsden and Campbell
(1984) identify two types of tie strength measures: indicators
and predictors. Indicators are components of