No abstract

The Bonjean reputational technique of identifying community leaders is employed in two small Texas communities differing vastly in demographic and economic characteristics. The rankings of leaders revealed a highly visible power structure in both communities with few concealed leaders (those ranked higher by key influentials than by lower‐ranking influentials) and few symbolic leaders (the opposite ranking pattern). High visibility in vastly dissimilar towns is discussed in terms of (low) magni‐complexity (Bonjean) and preponderantly horizontal linkages (Warren) found in small communities; this suggests that the Bonjean technique is a more valuable instrument in larger communities.