{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T16:01:29Z","timestamp":1785427289880,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"AOSIS","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Employment of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in South Africa\u2019s public sector remains persistently low despite progressive legislative frameworks. This reflects enduring structural, organisational and attitudinal barriers that limit meaningful inclusion, particularly at a provincial level. Compliance-driven approaches have proven insufficient in addressing the organisational dynamics shaping inclusion. This study is grounded in the social model of disability and applies social exchange theory (SET) to examine how perceptions of costs, benefits and reciprocity influence employment decisions.\nObjectives: This study applied SET to: (1) understand perceived costs\/benefits of employing PWDs; (2) explore the role of social structures\/actors; (3) propose SET-informed strategies to enhance equity.\nMethod: A qualitative study, situated within the transformative paradigm and using a case study design, was conducted in the Western Cape provincial public service. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 senior officials and analysed thematically using key SET principles.\nResults: Three interrelated themes emerged: the importance of enabling structures and actors, the role of reinforcement in sustaining inclusive practices, and the significance of reciprocal professional relationships. Findings indicate that inclusion is constrained by perceived costs and limited institutional support, but can be strengthened through structural investment, incentive mechanisms and relational engagement.\nConclusion: Social exchange theory provides a robust framework for reconceptualising PWD employment as a mutually beneficial social exchange, guiding more sustainable, relational inclusion strategies.\nContribution: The study advances SET as a practical lens for designing interventions that address both structural and relational barriers to disability inclusion.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/ajod.v15i0.1976","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T12:20:51Z","timestamp":1784031651000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Social exchange theory tenets and the employment of persons with disabilities in the Western Cape, South Africa"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4769-7792","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Warren P.","family":"Charles","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/056e9h402","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Cape Peninsula University of Technology"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6980-5526","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tendency","family":"Beretu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/056e9h402","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Cape Peninsula University of Technology"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barnes, C., 2019, \u2018Understanding the social model of disability: Past, present and future\u2019, in N. 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Stivers (ed.), Democracy, bureaucracy, and the study of administration, pp. 476\u2013497, Routledge, New York, NY.","DOI":"10.4324\/9780429501036-32"},{"key":"ref11","unstructured":"Molobela, T.T., 2024, \u2018A theoretical paper on Batho Pele principles as a catalyst for transformative public administration within South Africa\u2019s Government of National Unity (GNU)\u2019, African Renaissance 21(4), 137\u2013162."},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mukwevho, T.D. & Matlala, R., 2024, \u2018The protection and enforcement of disability rights in South Africa: Challenges and prospects\u2019, Journal of Law, Society and Development 11(1), 1\u201317. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25159\/2520-9515\/15866","DOI":"10.25159\/2520-9515\/15866"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ogbonna, H.O. & Mbah, C.S., 2022, \u2018Examining social exchange theory and social change in the works of George Caspar Homans \u2013 Implications for the state and global inequalities in the world economic order\u2019, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 13(1), 90\u2013104. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.36941\/mjss-2022-0009","DOI":"10.36941\/mjss-2022-0009"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Oliver, M., 2013, \u2018The social model of disability: Thirty years on\u2019, Disability and Society 28(7), 1024\u20131026. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/09687599.2013.818773","DOI":"10.1080\/09687599.2013.818773"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Oliver, M. & Barnes, C., 2012, The new politics of disablement, Bloomsbury Publishing, Basingstoke.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-230-39244-1"},{"key":"ref16","unstructured":"Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG), 2025, Question NW3260 to the Minister of Employment and Labour, viewed 18 April 2026, from https:\/\/pmg.org.za\/committee-question\/31134\/."},{"key":"ref17","unstructured":"Republic of South Africa, 2025, Status report on compliance with national and international obligations for the rights of persons with disabilities: Seventh annual progress report on the implementation of the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities covering the 2022\u20132023 reporting period, Government Gazette No. 53629, Regulation Gazette No. 11903, Government Printing Works, Pretoria."},{"key":"ref18","unstructured":"SABC News, 2025, NGOs question government\u2019s disability employment figures, viewed 18 April 2026, from https:\/\/www.sabcnews.com\/sabcnews\/ngos-question-governments-disability-employment-figures\/."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Saran, A., White, H. & Kuper, H., 2020, \u2018Evidence and gap map of studies assessing the effectiveness of interventions for people with disabilities in low-and middle-income countries\u2019, Campbell Systematic Reviews 16(1), e1070. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/cl2.1070","DOI":"10.1002\/cl2.1070"},{"key":"ref20","unstructured":"Shakespeare, T., 2006, \u2018The social model of disability\u2019, in L.J. Davis (ed.), The disability studies reader, pp. 214\u2013221, Routledge, London."},{"key":"ref21","unstructured":"United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), 2019, Inclusion can\u2019t wait \u2013 Forum on Business and Human Rights 2019, video, UN Web TV, viewed 17 April 2026, from https:\/\/webtv.un.org\/en\/asset\/k1u\/k1ueaefsii."},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Uzule, K., Zarina, V. & Shina, I., 2024, \u2018Fostering performance management by identifying key performance indicators for human capital in integrated reporting\u2019, Business: Theory and Practice 25(2), 420\u2013433. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3846\/btp.2024.21351","DOI":"10.3846\/btp.2024.21351"},{"key":"ref23","unstructured":"Wallenburg, C.M. & Handfield, R., 2022, \u2018Social exchange theory\u2019, in W.L. Tate, L.M. Ellram & L. Bals (eds.), Handbook of theories for purchasing, supply chain and management research, pp. 267\u2013282, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham."},{"key":"ref24","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO), 2022, Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities, WHO, Geneva."}],"container-title":["African Journal of Disability"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/ajod.org\/index.php\/ajod\/article\/view\/1976\/4297","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T12:21:06Z","timestamp":1784031666000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/ajod.org\/index.php\/ajod\/article\/view\/1976"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"references-count":25,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/ajod.v15i0.1976","relation":{},"ISSN":["2223-9170","2226-7220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2223-9170","type":"print"},{"value":"2226-7220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"article-number":"a1976"}}