Embracing digital networks: Entrepreneurs' social capital online

Abstract

This paper presents a research agenda for understanding how entrepreneurs accrue social capital in the digital age. We develop a conceptual framework with 12 research propositions that specify how the unique technical capabilities of social network sites impact entrepreneurs' bridging and bonding social capital online. These propositions are informed by anecdotal evidence from founders that finds entrepreneurs' social capital accrual differs online. We include theoretical and methodological insights for overcoming research challenges concerning context dynamism, intertwined networks, and unclear behavioral norms. This agenda addresses a growing gap between contemporary entrepreneurial practices and existing social capital theory and research in entrepreneurship.

Digital Entrepreneurship and its Role in Innovation Systems: A Systematic Literature Review as a Basis for Future Research Avenues for Sustainable Transitions

“…In other words, context dimensions affect the extent to which entrepreneurs may utilize their digital competences [104]. The effect of context is often reflected in the broadening of social networks that develop structural connections between individuals [105] and foster regional information and communications technology (ICT) access and entrepreneurship performance, also becoming a facilitator in the conditions of resource constraints and institutional barriers [108] (see also the Ecosystem dimension).…”

“…The categories that relate to the Ecosystem dimension are grouped into three initial nodes (see Table 1): processes within the ecosystem, facilitating conditions for digital entrepreneurship, and social networks [60,72,96,99,100,[102][103][104][105]108,109].…”

“…Given individual behavior, another influencing dimension is the online context that affects the broadening of social networks and, as a result, facilitates the acquisition of social capital through the development of structural connections between individuals, as well as the bridging of structural holes [105]. Such a network approach is directly interrelated with regional ICT access and entrepreneurship performance as it may become a facilitator in the conditions of resource constraints and institutional barriers [108].…”

The Evolution Process of Entrepreneurship Studies in the 21st Century: Research Insights From Top Business and Economics Journals

“…However, in terms of publication strategy, we find an interesting phenomenon: on one hand, scholars agree that qualitative methods in entrepreneurship field are valuable and attractive because they provide vivid and rich details, which reflect realities and are hardly captured by quantitative methods (Short et al ., 2010). Such details include, for instance, concrete entrepreneurial motivations and expectation (McGowan et al ., 2012) and how entrepreneurs’ social capital appears online (Smith et al ., 2017). Scholars, by contrast, seem to have a negative attitude toward quantitative methods in entrepreneurship study.…”

O “Problema da Imersão” nos Estudos do Empreendedorismo: Uma Proposição Teórica

“…Thus, in these areas, studies on startups (Shirokova, Tsukanova, & Morris, 2018), internationalization (Leppäaho, Chetty, & Dimitratos, 2018); sustainability (De Clercq, Thongpapanl, & Voronov, 2018), innovation (Hermanson, McKelvey, & Zaring, 2018), corporate social responsibility (Reimsbach, Braam, & Wang, 2018), and regional development (Terstriep & Lüthje, 2018), among others, would be inserted. One of these studies relates to the phenomenon of entrepreneurship (see for example: Greenberg, Farja, & Gimmon, 2018;Lajqi & Krasniqi, 2017;McKeever et al, 2014;Smith et al, 2017;Stam et al, 2014). In fact, "in many ways the timeliness of Granovetter's work created a paradigmatic shift and bridged the structural hole which previously existed between economic sociology and the emerging field of modern entrepreneurship research" (McKeever et al, 2014, p. 223).…”