Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

2.1.2 Social capital
Marguerite Cronk
There are many definitions <strong>of</strong> Social Capital, however most revolve around <strong>the</strong> notion <strong>of</strong> shared
accumulated resources that exist across social networks. The social network can be seen as <strong>the</strong>
structure or system <strong>of</strong> connections between nodes. Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) define social
capital as ‘‘<strong>the</strong> sum <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue
<strong>of</strong> possessing a durable network <strong>of</strong> more or less institutionalized relationships <strong>of</strong> mutual acquaintance
and recognition’’ (p. 14).
2.1.3 Bonding Social Capital
Bonding is horizontal, among equals within a community. Bonding capital is localized which is defined
as being found among people who live in <strong>the</strong> same or adjacent communities. It is also <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong>
social capital associated with thick trust (Anheier and Kendall 2002). It is associated with strong ties,
or strong social bonds, and is called “sociological superglue” by Putman (2000).
2.1.4 Bridging Social Capital
Bridging is said to be vertical between communities (Dolfsma and Dannreu<strong>the</strong>r 2003; Narayan 2002;
Narayan and Pritchett 1999) Bridging capital extends to individuals and organizations that are more
removed, geographically socially or emotionally. Bridging social capital is associated with thin trust
and weak ties.
2.1.5 Linking Capital
Linking capital refers to relations between individuals or groups in different social starta (Cote and
Healy, 2001) or groups that have nothing in common.
2.1.6 Intellectual Capital
Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) define "intellectual capital" as <strong>the</strong> “knowledge and knowing capability <strong>of</strong>
a social collectivity, such as an organization, intellectual community, or pr<strong>of</strong>essional practice”. Jar-Der
(2005), refer to intellectual capital as <strong>the</strong> knowledge possessed by groups that is more than <strong>the</strong>
aggregation <strong>of</strong> individual groups.
Each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> above defined constructs has multiple definitions and sub-components. The intention
behind selecting broad definitions is to establish possible relationships between <strong>the</strong> constructs at <strong>the</strong>
macro level, and suggest areas for fur<strong>the</strong>r investigation.
2.2 Social capitol and Social networks
In order to establish a context, <strong>the</strong> following section briefly defines social capital, notes benefits
derived from social capital and examines social capital in <strong>the</strong> virtual space.
Social capital is a somewhat elastic term with a variety <strong>of</strong> definitions in multiple fields (Adler & Kwon,
2002), and is conceived <strong>of</strong> as both a cause and an effect (Resnick, 2001; Williams, 2006). As stated
above, Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) define social capital as ‘‘<strong>the</strong> sum <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> resources, actual or
virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue <strong>of</strong> possessing a durable network <strong>of</strong> more or
less institutionalized relationships <strong>of</strong> mutual acquaintance and recognition’’ (p. 14). The resources
from <strong>the</strong>se relationships can differ in form and function based on <strong>the</strong> relationships <strong>the</strong>mselves. Social
capital broadly refers to <strong>the</strong> resources accumulated through <strong>the</strong> relationships or connections among
people (Coleman, 1988). Some authors distinguish between various forms <strong>of</strong> social capital and o<strong>the</strong>rs
refer to it as collective term. Generally speaking social capital has been linked to a variety <strong>of</strong> positive
social outcomes, such as better public health, lower crime rates, and more efficient financial markets
(Adler & Kwon, 2002). Moreover, social capital researchers have found that various forms <strong>of</strong> social
capital, including ties with friends and neighbors, are related to indices <strong>of</strong> psychological well-being,
such as self esteem and satisfaction with life (Bargh & McKenna, 2004; Helliwell & Putnam, 2004).
Vertovec (2001) highlighted <strong>the</strong> benefits <strong>of</strong> using social networks, by explaining how interpersonal
relations cut across boundaries such as neighborhood, workplace, kinship or class and could be
abstracted on an individual basis (Vivian and Fay 2003)
Even though most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research on social capital focuses on <strong>the</strong> collective benefits <strong>of</strong> social capital
as discussed above, Bourdieu and Coleman (1991), provide conceptualization at <strong>the</strong> individual level.
216