Social Capital: Theory and ResearchNan Lin, Karen S. Cook, Ronald S. Burt Leading scholars in the field of social networks from diverse disciplines present the first systematic and comprehensive collection of current theories and empirical research on the informal connections that individuals have for support, help, and information from other people. Expanding on concepts originally formulated by Pierre Bourdieu and James Coleman, this seminal work will find an essential place with educators and students in the fields of social networks, rational choice theory, institutions, and the socioeconomics of poverty, labor markets, social psychology, and race. The volume is divided into three parts. The first segment clarifies social capital as a concept and explores its theoretical and operational bases. Additional segments provide brief accounts that place the development of social capital in the context of the family of capital theorists, and identify some critical but controversial perspectives and statements regarding social capital in the literature. The editors then make the argument for the network perspective, why and how such a perspective can clarify controversies and advance our understanding of a whole range of instrumental and expressive outcomes. Social Capital further provides a forum for ongoing research programs initiated by social scientists working at the crossroads of formal theory and new methods. These scholars and programs share certain understandings and approaches in their analyses of social capital. They argue that social networks are the foundation of social capital. Social networks simultaneously capture individuals and social structure, thus serving as a vital conceptual link between actions and structural constraints, between micro- and macro-level analyses, and between relational and collective dynamic processes. They are further cognizant of the dual significance of the "structural" features of the social networks and the "resources" embedded in the networks as defining elements of social capital. Nan Lin is professor of sociology, Duke University. Karen Cook is Ray Lyman Wilber Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Stanford University. Ronald S. Burt is Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. |
From inside the book
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... better?), and emphases (can social capital operate in economic activities and organizations? Can it work in different social and institutional contexts?). In fact, there is a looming danger that the free flow of understanding ...
... better occupations. Only recently, however, has attention turned to the utility of social capital from employers' perspective. The principal argument is that social capital should benefit both employers and employees. For employers ...
... better job outcomes for persons seeking jobs with a panel study of job applicants as well as a sample of the ... better off (e.g., gain better jobs and income). Part III examines how social capital operates in organizational ...
... better for accessing better resources? Is gender homogeneity or homophily more useful in accessing better resources? Hurlbert, Beggs, and Haines study some of these issues. Their research program examines the use of social networks ...
... better understanding of the social dynamics affecting the social capital distribution in Hungary. This collection by no means claims to be representative of all significant work on social capital currently taking place around the world ...
Contents
| 3 | |
Structural Holes versus Network Closure as Social Capital | 31 |
Measurement Techniques | 57 |
How Much Is That Network Worth? Social Capital | 85 |
Interpersonal Ties Social Capital and Employer | 105 |
The Value of Social | 127 |
The Influence of Social Capital | 159 |
Social Networks and Social Capital | 209 |
Getting Support | 233 |
Index | 325 |