Bonding social capital refers to networks with a high density of relationships between members, where most, if not all, individuals belonging to the network are interconnected because they know each other and interact frequently with each other. Friendships are often considered to be bonding social capital, in that they are frequently formed between people who share common characteristics or interests.
Friends are people that we turn to when we are in a crisis, and with whom we feel close. However, friendships may also act as bridging relations, in that they may be between people of different cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic backgrounds, or ages, who may in turn provide access to information and other groups or individuals not previously known to the other. If we consider this spatially then bonding would be ties within a village, and bridging would be ties to a member of a different village — between villages.
Within a village we can expect people to feel a sense of belonging. There would be dense networks of strong relationships stemming from daily interaction over long periods of time.
The network is exclusive, requiring residence in the village, and inward looking in nature. The relationships would help to provide social support by allowing people to access favours, information, and emotional support. In this context bridging social capital would be a relationship to someone in a different village. These relationships tend to be weaker, owing to the realities of space-time and therefore less frequent interaction. The relationship is with someone who is different, in this case they live in a different village, likely with different skills, knowledge, information, and importantly different friends.
Putnam described bonding social capital as inward looking, reinforcing exclusive identities and promoting homogeneity; whereas bridging social capital as outward looking, promoting links between diverse individuals [3]. A different example would be within and between organisations. Bonding social capital would exist within a company where employees have shared identity, shared understandings, and a sense of belonging.
Within the company the relations are exclusive and inward looking, and the networks are dense with most people knowing each other. Depending on the size of the organisation this may not be true but bonding social capital can still be found strongly in teams or units within the organisation. In this context bridging social capital would be a relationship to someone in a different organisation.
Bonding social capital can fulfil a useful social function by providing a vital source of support to people who suffer from socio-economic hardship or poor health. Research by Edin and Lein [4] found that poor mothers living in public housing developments relied on money obtained from a network of family and friends to make ends meet. While bonding social capital allowed these mothers to cobble together enough resources to survive, their lack of bridging social capital did not allow them to connect with individuals or organizations outside their network that might promote social change or identify other forms of assistance.
It allows a society or organization, such as a corporation or a nonprofit, to function together as a whole through trust and shared identity, norms, values, and mutual relationships. Social capital producing negative outcomes is generally called as negative social capital. The potential downsides include restrictions on individual freedom, excess claims on group members and exclusion of outsiders. Social capital is all about bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. In this definition, we can think of networks as real-world links between groups or individuals.
It is usually referred as the resources built up through connections or relationships among people. The major impact of social networking sites on social capital can be concluded in a way that they have made it easier for people to gather information about each other and establishing a relevant relationship among them.
To build social capital means to improve social structures and social attitudes, values and behaviours. In organisations building social capital involves promoting values and norms that facilitate the creation of social capital, as well as the means and motivation for members to interact with each other. Cultural Resources are tangible remains of past human activity. New York: Academic Press. Social Structure and Network Analysis. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Lin, K. Cook, and R. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Cook, and Ronald S. The Academy of Management Review 27 1 — Cambridge Scholars Press. Minbaeva, and Torben Pedersen. Zweekhorst, and Joske F. About The Author. Tristan Claridge Tristan Claridge has a passion for technology, innovation and teaching.
He is an academic and entrepreneur, and he uses his cross-discipline knowledge and experience to solve problems and identify opportunities.
He has bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Queensland in Australia. He has qualifications in environmental science, social theory, teaching and research, and business management. Tristan is dedicated to the application of social capital theory to organisations.
His diverse experience in teaching, research, and business has given him a unique perspective on organisational social capital and the potential improvements that can be achieved in any organisation. Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Subscribe to get a free guide to social capital.
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