Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Value-added theory (also known as social strain theory) was first proposed by Neil Smelser and is based on the assumption that certain conditions are needed for the development of a social movement. Smelser saw social movements as side-effects of rapid social change.Smelser borrowed the concept of value added from economics, where it refers to the increasing value of product in progressing stages of production.