Good connections and bad companies

A reflective approach to occupational milieus and social network resources in comparative perspective

Abstract

The 2017 social network module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) was the first in a large comparative project to deploy the occupational position generator in a short (ten-item) version.  An adaptation of the so-called “reflective” metrics methodology related to the two-mode network approach, introduced into sociological research in the last decade, yields a novel opportunity for a more refined measurement of relational resources, with regard to the various positional values of various occupational ties. The paper lays special emphasis on the validity, discriminatory power and structural coherence of the novel application and the indices deployed thereby. The new methodology allows comparison of the role of inclusive and prestige-oriented types of connectedness, with special attention to „negative resources”, the symbolic implications of “less than useful” milieu ties. The results indicate a significant influence of these network variables, which in some regards are on a par with standard socio-demographic aspects. This applies first of all to the prestige-related measures, and particularly to the Eastern and Central European region, with Hungary standing out as a conspicuous case. Parallel country-based aggregate analyses indicate a correlation between the hierarchy-oriented attachment pattern and some macro-level integration aspects such as the weight of ascription aspects in the formation of network resources and the cultural prevalence of some patronage norms, pointing thereby to the interplay of structural and cultural aspects in the generation of gaps in intergroup contacts.