Group solidarity as the product of collective action: Creation of solidarity in a population of injection drug users

Abstract

This paper introduces a theory of group solidarity and a method for measuring it. Solidary groups are characterized by strong internal monitoring and sanctioning systems, strong intra-group ties, high exit costs, and lack of information about resources outside the group. This analysis suggests that all these attributes derive from the choice to invest differentially in social relationships within the group rather than forming cross-cutting ties. To explain variations in solidarity across groups thus requires an account of the conditions that favor intra-group ties. Drawing on a formal theory of collective action, the analysis shows how the return from investments in intra-group ties varies based on the shape of the production function for the collective goods produced by the group. The proposed measure of group solidarity is based on the degree to which the proportion of intra-group ties exceeds that which would be expected were ties formed randomly. The theory of group solidarity and the measurement procedures are illustrated using data from a survey of 488 injection drug users in Connecticut.

Citation

Heckathorn, D.D. and Rosenstein, J.E. (2002), "Group solidarity as the product of collective action: Creation of solidarity in a population of injection drug users", Advances in Group Processes (Advances in Group Processes, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 37-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0882-6145(02)19003-5