Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology
01 Aug 1998-Review of Sociology (Annual Reviews 4139 El Camino Way, P.O. Box 10139, Palo Alto, CA 94303-0139, USA)-Vol. 24, Iss: 1, pp 1-24
TL;DR: Social capital has a definite place in sociological theory as mentioned in this paper, and its role in social control, in family support, and in benefits mediated by extra-familial networks, but excessive extensions of the concept may lead to excessive emphasis on positive consequences of sociability.
Abstract: This paper reviews the origins and definitions of social capital in the writings of Bourdieu, Loury, and Coleman, among other authors. It distinguishes four sources of social capital and examines their dynamics. Applications of the concept in the sociological literature emphasize its role in social control, in family support, and in benefits mediated by extrafamilial networks. I provide examples of each of these positive functions. Negative consequences of the same processes also deserve attention for a balanced picture of the forces at play. I review four such consequences and illustrate them with relevant examples. Recent writings on social capital have extended the concept from an individual asset to a feature of communities and even nations. The final sections describe this conceptual stretch and examine its limitations. I argue that, as shorthand for the positive consequences of sociability, social capital has a definite place in sociological theory. However, excessive extensions of the concept may j...
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TL;DR: 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 as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: 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.
8,518 citations
Cites background or result from "Social Capital: Its Origins and App..."
...The "narrow" camp, exemplified by Portes (1998), argues that the abilities at the network nodes are complements to social capital....
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...Our goals, therefore, are broader than those of other recent reviewers (such as Leenders & Gabbay, 1999a, notably their Introduction and Agenda chapters; also Burt, 2000; Foley & Edwards, 1999; Lin, 1999; Portes, 1998; Woolcock, 1998; Woolcock & Narayan, 2000)....
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...The "narrow" camp, exemplified by Portes (1998), argues that the abilities at the network nodes are complements to social capital. The "broad" camp, exemplified by Gabbay and Leenders (1999) and...
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline the mechanism by which brokerage provides social capital, and show that between-group brokers are more likely to express ideas, less likely to have ideas dismissed, and more likely have ideas evaluated as valuable.
Abstract: This article outlines the mechanism by which brokerage provides social capital. Opinion and behavior are more homogeneous within than between groups, so people connected across groups are more familiar with alternative ways of thinking and behaving. Brokerage across the structural holes between groups provides a vision of options otherwise unseen, which is the mechanism by which brokerage becomes social capital. I review evidence consistent with the hypothesis, then look at the networks around managers in a large American electronics company. The organization is rife with structural holes, and brokerage has its expected correlates. Compensation, positive performance evaluations, promotions, and good ideas are disproportionately in the hands of people whose networks span structural holes. The between-group brokers are more likely to express ideas, less likely to have ideas dismissed, and more likely to have ideas evaluated as valuable. I close with implications for creativity and structural change.
4,442 citations
Cites background from "Social Capital: Its Origins and App..."
...There is a great variety of work on the subject (e.g., Coleman 1990; Portes 1998; Lin 2002)....
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12 Jul 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of social capital as discussed in the literature, identifies controversies and debates, considers some critical issues, and provides conceptual and research strategies for building a theory.
Abstract: This chapter reviews social capital as discussed in the literature, identifies controversies and debates, considers some critical issues, and provides conceptual and research strategies for building a theory. It argues that such a theory and the research enterprise must be based on the fundamental understanding that social capital is captured from embedded resources in social networks. Such measurements can strength of tie network bridge, or intimacy, intensity, interaction and reciprocity be made relative to two frameworks: network resources and contact resources. There are many other measures, such as size, density, cohesion, and closeness of social networks which are candidates as measures for social capital. Network locations are necessary conditions of embedded resources. By considering social capital as assets in networks, the chapter discusses some issues in conceptualization, measurement, and causal mechanism. A proposed model identifies the exogenous factors leading to the acquisition (or the lack) of social capital as well as the expected returns of social capital.
3,733 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how social capital dimensions of networks affect the transfer of knowledge between network members and propose a set of conditions that promote knowledge transfer for the different network types.
Abstract: We examine how social capital dimensions of networks affect the transfer of knowledge between network members. We distinguish among three common network types: intracorporate networks, strategic alliances, and industrial districts. Using a social capital framework, we identify structural, cognitive, and relational dimensions for the three network types. We then link these social capital dimensions to the conditions that facilitate knowledge transfer. In doing so, we propose a set of conditions that promote knowledge transfer for the different network types.
3,449 citations
Cites background from "Social Capital: Its Origins and App..."
...others, a consensus emerged that social capital represents the ability of actors to secure benefits by virtue of membership in social networks or other social structures (Portes, 1998)....
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TL;DR: A review of argument and evidence on the connection between social networks and social capital can be found in this paper, where the authors focus on the network mechanisms responsible for social capital effects rather than trying to integrate across metaphors of social capital loosely tied to distant empirical indicators.
3,441 citations
Cites background from "Social Capital: Its Origins and App..."
...An increasing number of research articles and chapters on social capital are appearing (look at the recent publication dates for the references to this chapter), literature reviews have begun to appear (e.g. Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998; Portes, 1998; Sandefur & Laumann, 1998; Woolcock, 1998; Foley & Edwards, 1999; Lin, 1999; Adler & Kwon, 2000), books are dedicated to it (e....
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...…(look at the recent publication dates for the references to this chapter), literature reviews have begun to appear (e.g. Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998; Portes, 1998; Sandefur & Laumann, 1998; Woolcock, 1998; Foley & Edwards, 1999; Lin, 1999; Adler & Kwon, 2000), books are dedicated to it (e.g.…...
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References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of social capital is introduced and illustrated, its forms are described, the social structural conditions under which it arises are examined, and it is used in an analys...
Abstract: In this paper, the concept of social capital is introduced and illustrated, its forms are described, the social structural conditions under which it arises are examined, and it is used in an analys...
31,693 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1964
TL;DR: In a seminal work as discussed by the authors, Peter M. Blau used concepts of exchange, reciprocity, imbalance, and power to examine social life and to derive the more complex processes in social structure from the simpler ones.
Abstract: In his landmark study of exchange and power in social life, Peter M. Blau contributes to an understanding of social structure by analyzing the social processes that govern the relations between individuals and groups. The basic question that Blau considers is: How does social life become organized into increasingly complex structures of associations among humans. This analysis, first published in 1964, represents a pioneering contribution to the sociological literature. Blau uses concepts of exchange, reciprocity, imbalance, and power to examine social life and to derive the more complex processes in social structure from the simpler ones. The principles of reciprocity and imbalance are used to derive such processes as power, changes in group structure; and the two major forces that govern the dynamics of complex social structures: the legitimization of organizing authority of increasing scope and the emergence of oppositions along different lines producing conflict and change.
16,278 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this article, a new approach to describing both stability and change in social systems by linking the behavior of individuals to organizational behavior is proposed. But the approach is not suitable for large-scale systems.
Abstract: Suggests a new approach to describing both stability and change in social systems by linking the behavior of individuals to organizational behavior.
16,017 citations
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14 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define cultural capital as accumulated labor that, when appropriated on a private, that is, exclusive, basis by agents or groups of agents, enables them to appropriate social energy in the form of reified or living labor.
Abstract: Capital is accumulated labor that, when appropriated on a private, that is, exclusive, basis by agents or groups of agents, enables them to appropriate social energy in the form of reified or living labor. Most of the properties of cultural capital can be deduced from the fact that, in its fundamental state, it is linked to the body and presupposes embodiment. Cultural capital, in the objectified state, has a number of properties that are defined only in the relationship with cultural capital in its embodied form. By conferring institutional recognition on the cultural capital possessed by any given agent, the academic qualification also makes it possible to compare qualification holders and even to exchange them. Furthermore, it makes it possible to establish conversion rates between cultural capital and economic capital by guaranteeing the monetary value of a given academic capital.
13,768 citations
TL;DR: Putnam as discussed by the authors showed that crucial factors such as social trust are eroding rapidly in the United States and offered some possible explanations for this erosion and concluded that the work needed to consider these possibilities more fully.
Abstract: After briefly explaining why social capital (civil society) is important to democracy, Putnam devotes the bulk of this chapter to demonstrating social capital’s decline in the United States across the last quarter century. (See Putnam 1995 for a similar but more detailed argument.) While he acknowledges that the significance of a few countertrends is difficult to assess without further study, Putnam concludes that crucial factors such as social trust are eroding rapidly in the United States. He offers some possible explanations for this erosion and concludes by outlining the work needed to consider these possibilities more fully.
11,187 citations