Social capital, gender and careers: evidence from retail senior managers

Abstract

Purpose - The article aims to show how using the framework of social capital can be useful in understanding the careers of senior retail managers. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative research design in the form of 17 biographical interviews with 11 men and six women was adopted to understand the perceived influence and active involvement of social capital factors in retail career development at senior levels. Findings - Men and women were equally aware of the importance of accumulating social capital factors for career development purposes, although they considered that the accumulation of human capital factors to be crucial in their own career development. Evidence indicated that women and men had benefited from borrowing social capital early in their career. However, having reached senior status the ways and reasons women accumulate social capital seemingly differ from the men's. Overall, men acquired social capital and used networking techniques more strategically and instrumentally than the women with regard to career development purposes. Senior women talked about engaging in expressive networks for social support and to overcome macho cultures. Research limitations/implications - The research is limited to 17 qualitative interviews and so cannot be generalised to the wider population. Rather, it is intended to instigate debate over the importance of social capital in careers. Practical implications - The findings imply that gender impacts access to and accumulation of social capital for career development purposes. It highlights issues that need to be explored in more detail so as to enable a more complete understanding of the factors important for people's careers. Originality/value - The paper contributes to an understanding of men's and women's career development in relation to social capital, an area that has received limited attention in the human resource and retail fields

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Social Capital in Pricing Strategy: a Case of Small Enterprises in East Java

“…The strong relationship between owner and worker and among workers are the pivot aspect of social capital. This finding justifies the importance of network structure in Broadbridge (2010) and Jansen et al (2011). This qualitative ISSN 1979-6471 Volume XVIII No.…”

“…Social capital goes beyond ordinary networks. Broadbridge (2010) highlights that social capital prevails when network become a key resource for grasping opportunities and benefits. Bernades (2010) indicates that network-relationalembededness represents the degree of closeness and reciprocity between a focal firm and its relevant supply networks.…”

“…This network structure refers to Broadbridge (2010), who indicates that direct ties in which people close to individual.…”

25 Years On: Reflecting on the Past and Looking to the Future in Gender and Management Research

“…Thus, Kanter highlighted the problems faced by women as 'token managers'; how men assigned to women stereotypical attributes and, through informal networking and other processes, 'closed ranks' against them -processes that continue to surface in more contemporary research (e.g. Benschop, 2009;Broadbridge, 2010a;Kumra, 2010;Kumra andVinnicombe, 2008, 2010;Mooney and Ryan, 2009;Personen, Tienari and Vanhala, 2009). While Kanter denied the salience of gender in her analysis -locating the dynamics observed within gender neutral organizational structuresshe arguably paved the way for future studies focusing not only on the detrimental experiences of women but also, from a critical perspective, on masculinity and men.…”

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