Mutualism is reviving again in several countries, replying to state and market failure with an alternative, social insurance setup. We study participation in such new mutuals with a focus on embeddedness. We distinguish group-level embeddedness (network structure) and individual embeddedness (the type and quantity of ties to other group members) and study how these relate to members’ commitment to mutuals and their trust in the commitment of others. We show that group-level embeddedness primarily affects trust, while individual embeddedness more strongly associates with commitment. We reveal these dynamics for mutuals of different ages using a unique multilevel dataset on the motivations, beliefs and social relations of more than 5000 members of 230 small Dutch mutuals. Our results highlight the importance of thinking critically about the levels at which social embeddedness plays a role, as the dynamics are more subtle and not all means of embeddedness are equally fruitful.

中文翻译：

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网络和新的互惠主义：嵌入如何影响小型互惠生的承诺和信任

互惠主义在一些国家再次复苏，以替代的社会保险设置来应对国家和市场失灵。我们研究参与这种新的共同体，重点是嵌入性。我们区分群体级别的嵌入性（网络结构）和个人嵌入性（与其他群体成员的联系的类型和数量），并研究这些与成员对共同体的承诺以及他们对他人承诺的信任之间的关系。我们表明，群体级别的嵌入主要影响信任，而个人嵌入与承诺的关联性更强。我们使用一个独特的多级数据集来揭示不同年龄的互惠生的这些动态，该数据集是关于 230 家小型荷兰互惠生的 5000 多名成员的动机、信仰和社会关系的。