Final answer:
The individuals and firms described in the question are creating resource dependence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer is option e. Resource dependence.
Resource dependence theory explains how individuals and firms gain power by reducing their dependence on others while increasing the dependence of others on themselves.
It suggests that those who control essential resources have more power and can use it to exploit and manipulate others.
An example of resource dependence is when a large corporation controls a vital resource, such as oil. By controlling the oil supply, the corporation can demand high prices and exert influence over other actors who depend on oil for their businesses or daily activities.
This creates a power imbalance in which the corporation becomes less dependent on others, while others become more dependent on the corporation.
The correct answer is option e. resource dependence. Resource dependence theory involves the strategic maneuvering by individuals and firms to minimize their own dependence on others while, at the same time, attempting to increase the dependence of others upon themselves.
This frames a power dynamic where the more resources (such as materials, labor, information, etc.) one actor controls that are valuable, scarce, and not easily substituted, the more power they hold over those who need those resources.
In the context of dependency theory, core nations often engage in practices that increase the dependence of peripheral and semi-peripheral nations, thereby maintaining a form of economic dominance.
This theory, resting on Marxist views, suggests that inequality in the global system is largely due to this exploitative relationship which preserves a cycle of dependence, hindering the economic growth and development of peripheral nations.