A growing number of sociologists, political scientists, economists, and organizational theorists have invoked the concept of social capital in the search for answers to a broadening range of questions being confronted in their own fields. Seeking to clarify the concept and help assess its utility for organizational theory, we synthesize the theoretical research undertaken in these various disciplines and develop a common conceptual framework that identifies the sources, benefits, risks, and contingencies of social capital.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/4134367.pdf

Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept

For all its richness and potential for discovery, qualitative research has been critiqued as too often lacking in scholarly rigor. The authors summarize a systematic approach to new concept development and grounded theory articulation that is designed to bring “qualitative rigor” to the conduct and presentation of inductive research.

Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Inductive Research: Notes on the Gioia Methodology

Lincoln, Yvonna, and Egon Guba, "Postpositivism and the Naturalist Paradigm," pp. 14-46 in Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985.*

Social Network Analysis

http://onemvweb.com/sources/sources/network_structure_social_capital.pdf

The Network Structure Of Social Capital

Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of interest in network research across the physical and social sciences. For social scientists, the theory of networks has been a gold mine, yielding explanations for social phenomena in a wide variety of disciplines from psychology to economics. Here, we review the kinds of things that social scientists have tried to explain using social network analysis and provide a nutshell description of the basic assumptions, goals, and explanatory mechanisms prevalent in the field. We hope to contribute to a dialogue among researchers from across the physical and social sciences who share a common interest in understanding the antecedents and consequences of network phenomena.

/pdf/network-analysis-in-the-social-sciences-440fzedv4c.pdf

Network Analysis in the Social Sciences

This study introduces the concept of group social capital, which is the configuration of group members' social relationships within a group and in the social structure of a broader organization, an...

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/20159627.pdf

Group Social Capital and Group Effectiveness: The Role of Informal Socializing Ties

In recent years, we have witnessed the rapid proliferation and widespread adoption of a new class of information technologies, commonly known as social media. Researchers often rely on social network analysis (SNA) when attempting to understand these technologies, often without considering how the novel capabilities of social media platforms might affect the underlying theories of SNA, which were developed primarily through studies of offline social networks. This article outlines several key differences between traditional offline social networks and online social media networks by juxtaposing an established typology of social network research with a well-regarded definition of social media platforms that articulates four key features. The results show that at four major points of intersection, social media has considerable theoretical implications for SNA. In exploring these points of intersection, this study outlines a series of theoretically distinct research questions for SNA in social media contexts. These points of intersection offer considerable opportunities for researchers to investigate the theoretical implications introduced by social media and lay the groundwork for a robust social media agenda potentially spanning multiple disciplines.

What's different about social media networks? a framework and research agenda

We explore the role of negative relationships in the context of social networks in work organizations. Whereas network researchers have emphasized the benefits and opportunities derived from positive interpersonal relationships, we examine the social liabilities that can result from negative relationships in order to flesh out the entire “social ledger.” Deriving our argument from theory and research on negative asymmetry, we propose that these negative relationships may have greater power than positive relationships to explain workplace outcomes

Exploring the Social Ledger: Negative Relationships and Negative Asymmetry in Social Networks in Organizations

We introduce the concept of group social capital—the set of resources made available to a group through members' social relationships within the social structure of the group and in the broader formal and informal structure of the organization. We argue that greater group social capital resources lead to greater group effectiveness and that there are many different conduits through which group social capital resources flow. We present a multilevel, multidimensional model arguing that an optimal balance of all these conduits maximizes group social capital resources and group effectiveness.

Giuseppe Labianca

Papers

Network Analysis in the Social Sciences

Group Social Capital and Group Effectiveness: The Role of Informal Socializing Ties

What's different about social media networks? a framework and research agenda

Exploring the Social Ledger: Negative Relationships and Negative Asymmetry in Social Networks in Organizations

A Multilevel Model of Group Social Capital