Association of Indicators and Predictors of TIE Strength

Abstract

Arguments deriving from the importance of the strength of social ties between individuals are being applied in social and organizational analysis; however, lack of empirical verification of the components of the construct and lack of consistency in the use of proxy measures have made difficult the resolution of controversies surrounding the relative merits of strong and weak ties. This study examined the relations between predictors and indicators of Granovetter's 1973 construct of tie strength. Marsden and Campbell's 1984 finding of “contamination” of indicators by predictors is supported by this analysis.