Social capital and organizational practice

Abstract

There is need of a theory of social capital capable of informing practice in firms aiming to develop social capital. Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) paper on the relationship between social capital and intellectual capital is analyzed to explore its promise in terms of providing a framework for such a theory. To this end the model presented in the paper is explored in terms of its levels of analysis and its explanatory meta-theory. It is demonstrated that Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s theory is highly similar to complexity accounts of the developments of social phenomena and it is suggested that complexity perspectives on the development of social capital may follow naturally from, and be consistent with, the bulk of Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s arguments and also that such perspectives may hold some promise when it comes to informing the practical development of social capital.