Managing social capital lecture 1
Importance of social capital
- Good social capital = good outcomes (career)
- Last few years, a lot of articles in science to explore social capital
- We are all connected in a web of relationships, success is embedded in these relationships.
Good social capital is linked with getting a job, promotion, influence, resources,
organizational learning and doing, strategic alliances
Capital (classical theory) = Marxist view, social relations. Exploitation by capitalists of the proletariat
(two classes). Dichotomous view on society. Part of surplus value between the use value
(consumption market) and exchange value (in production) of commodity. Investment in production
and circulation of commodities.
Capital = part of surplus value, a product of an investment process. Surplus value = products of
capitalists sold at a higher price (user value).
Capitalization = investment process, in which surplus value is produced and captured by a class.
Human capital (Becker)= accumulation of surplus value by laborer. What has the individual.
Investment in technical skills and knowledge. Individual knowledge, skills, abilities and other traits
(KSAOs).
1) Education and training are an important form of capital
2) Individuals have choice in what KSAOs to invest
3) …..
Cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1990)= reproduction of dominant embedded in meanings (values) we
have as social beings. Community/society. Internalization/misrecognition of dominant values.
Investments on part of the dominant class (regular people) in reproducing a set of symbols and
meaning of the bourgeoise (upper class).
1) Embodied cultural capital upbringing and experience
2) Objectified cultural capital artworks, books
3) Institutionalized cultural capital formal degrees
Function = people use cultural capital to maintain their status and exclude others.
Psychological capital theory (Luthans, 2002)
PsyCap having high levels of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, resilience
PsyCap is trait-like, but can be developed. Facilitates individual (and firm) performance.
Critical perspective about psychological capital (Doci et al 2022) PsyCap is rooted in different
social learning trajectories due to inequalities in society (different social expectations, learning
opportunities, role models).
Capital forms = Traditional economic capital, human capital, social capital, psychological capital
Social capital = what provides access to resources and social relations (&quality). Mobilize these
resources to facilitate action. Who do you know, relationships, network of contacts, friends.
Multilevel perspectives
- Differences in social capital between/within individuals.
How do individuals invest in social relations, how do individuals generate a return from social
relations (feedback seeking).
, - Differences in social capital between groups.
How do certain groups develop social capital, how do such collective assets enhance group
member’s life.
Social network perspective
Network structure
a) Centralized
One person is the key player
b) Dense, not centralized
Lot of connections among people
c) Fragmented
People from different study associations
Network ties
d) Closure
e) Ties between actors with different attributes
Teacher-student or different genders
f) Two types of ties: Dislike & Friendship
Special network structures: small world. Any two people in
the network can reach each other through a short sequence of acquaintances.
Special ties: brokerage (person who connects different networks with each
other) and bridges.
The strength of weak ties: information such as job opportunities are spread
between groups through weak ties. People we don’t know that well can provide us with different
information than someone in your strong tie or relationship
Article 1: Lin 1999
Insufficient to focus only on network locations does not tell the full story of social capital because
the quality of the relationship matters (trust). Is there one network configuration that is conductive
any form of capital weak/strong/dense bijvoorbeeld: no, weak ties helps us access unique
resources. Strong ties and dense networks help us preserve resources we already have. Not one
perfect ratio.
Lin (1999) over social capital investment in social relations with expected returns. Resources
embedded in a social structure which are accessed and or mobilized in purposive actions. Structure,
accessibility and use!
Network resources = resources embedded in social network that are directly accessible.
Embedded network resources:
- Range of possible resources (number of colleagues)
- Best possible resources (expert opinion)
- Variety of resources (interdisciplinary research, people with all kinds of backgrounds, variety
of inputs)
- Composition of resources (feedback on teaching, ask all colleagues on same level)
,Contact resources = resources embedded within contacts that are used as helpers in an instrumental
action.
Embedded contact resources:
- Wealth, status, power of the contacts
Key processes of social capital
Individuals engage in interactions and networking in order to produce profits. Why embedded
resources in social networks will enhance outcomes of actions =
1. Better flow of information.
2. Exert influence (putting in a word). Convince others.
3. Social credentials (standing behind). Vouch for your friends, he can be an asset for company.
Benefits of social capital
A. Group
B. Individuals
Not the same as human capital because social focuses on how individuals invest in social
relations, human discusses how you invest in yourself to compete. And the profit that
individual yields is captured in the embedded resources in relations to generate return.
Key problems/misconceptions of social capital
Lin (1999) table
Issue Disagreement Problem
1. Collective vs individual Social capital as collective Norms are resources, it is a
asset. VB: trust. capital. Social capital must be
distinguished from collective
assets/goods like norms/trust.
Causal propositions (like
collective assets
(trust/enhance utility of
resources)) may be formulated
but it shouldn’t be assumed
they are all alternative forms
of social capital.
2. Closure of open Groups should be closed or No it should not matter if your
networks. Structure of dense. (This is the best way to groups is dense/closed. Strong
network. achieve outcomes). ties (similar information,
embedded in network) vs weak
ties (high chance of new
information) are also
important. Vision of class
society and absence of
mobility.
3. Functional view Social capital is indicated by its Tautology (cause-effect) not
(Implicate a tautology: social effect in particular action. possible. Social capital is
capital is identified when and if Problem because you can’t say defined by its function and not
it works) ‘this is a causal relationship’. a singe entity. All consist of
some social structure/facilitate
actions within structure.
Social capital is identified when
, it works, potential causal
explanation only captured by
effect.
Causal and effectual factors
are folded into a singular
function.
4. Measurement Not quantifiable Heuristic, not falsifiable, we
need a better social capital
theory. First decide what is
social capital and then try to
measure it.
Network location = by identifying the locations of individual nodes it is possible to assess how close
or how far the node is from a strategic location, such as a bridge, where the occupant has the
competitive advantage in possible access to more, diverse, and valued information. The people that
have a certain position in a network can have an advantage.
- Key to social capital is the location of individuals in a network
- Dense networks may be more suitable for preserving or maintaining resources
- Weak ties are more useful for obtaining resources not presently possessed.
- Measurement: strength of tie, bridge to access to bridge.
- Indicators: structural hole/constrain, network bridge, intensity, interaction, reciprocity.
Embedded resources = valued resources in most societies are represented by wealth, power and
status, which suggests that social capital can be analyzed by the amount or variety of such
characteristics of others with whom an individual has direct or indirect ties.
Measure by network resources or contact statuses.
Indicators: range of resources, variety, composition (average resources). Or contact occupation,
authority.
Sampling techniques
Measure social capital
Technique Advantages Disadvantages
Saturation survey Capture whole network, Limited to small networks,
(complete mapping of complete mapping of network restriction
network)
Name generator Customized content areas, Lack of sampling frames
ego-centered network Biased toward strong ties
mapping (often forget about more
important the weak ties).
Position generator Content free, sampling of Lack of specificity of relations
(Names of people who have hierarchical positions, multiple
access to certain resources) resources mapped, direct and
(inclusion of multiple criteria, indirect accesses. Looks at
time, gender). status, power, job
Modeling social capital
What can be the outcomes of social capital?
