PurposeThis article attempts to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the value of social networks, or social capital, within the group process towards group and team performance by exploring the explicit contribution of social capital towards a group or team's performance.Design/methodology/approachThe research views the potential contribution of social capital through the perspective of the resource‐based view of organizations, where social capital's unique potential contribution to the organization's competitive advantage is highlighted. Data were collected from undergraduate student‐athletes (n=570) from 23 NCAA colleges and universities across the USA using a multiple hierarchical regression analysis.FindingsResults show a significant connection between social capital and team performance. This contribution is above and beyond other input and process variables, such as past team performance.Research limitations/implicationsData were limited to a cross‐sectional view of social capital and team performance. Results, however, support past theoretical models where social capital maintains a significant presence in overall group effectiveness.Originality/valueWhile social capital has been connected to team performance conceptually, few research studies have made this connection explicit. This article provides justification for maintaining social capital as a viable and ubiquitous element to the dynamic group process. Findings here also provide additional support for re‐examining social capital as significant contributor to a firm's competitive advantage.
Despite battling perceptions of isolation from the overall college campus, student athletes often report higher social outcomes, such as a greater sense of community, than nonathletes. However, research has also begun to show an intricate networking within these worlds as female student athletes interact more with their peers on campus than do male student athletes, and White student athletes are reporting higher levels of social capital than their African American counterparts. The current study, then, sought to contribute a descriptive analysis of this notion by exploring the role of gender in outcomes of social capital for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division-I student athletes. Data were collected from 570 student athletes across 23 NCAA Division-I institutions, all of which were also affiliated with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Results revealed a significant interaction between gender of the student athletes and sport type (team sport or individual sport), that is, female student athletes in team sports reported higher social capital than those in individual sports, and male student athletes reported higher social capital in individual-sport settings than in team sports. The findings here suggest significant implications for coaches, work-team supervisors, and future research.
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