Social tie, social capital, and social behavior: Toward an integrative model of informal exchange

Abstract

What is the unique nature of social capital that differentiates itself from other forms of capital? How should we conceptualize and operationalize social capital? What are the major drivers and outcomes of social capital? To address the three questions, I apply the duality lens—the perspective of regarding each entity as a paradox consisting of two contrasting yet interdependent components—to social capital for an integrative model of informal exchange. The focus of this paper is on the duality relationship between the content variables (social tie, social capital, social behavior along two basic dimensions: trust for tie strength and option for network structure) and the process variables (antecedent, content, process, and consequence) toward a geocentric framework of formal–informal exchange. I intend to make two contributions. First, the conceptualization and operationalization of social capital is developed from the duality lens of formal–informal exchange so as to identify the unique nature of social capital as an informal entity. Second, a holistic, dynamic, and dialectic model of social capital is provided to explore the causal links between various elements related to social capital. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007Social capital, Trust, Option, Tie strength, Network structure, Informal exchange,

Balancing Formality and Informality in Business Exchanges as a Duality: A Comparative Case Study of Returnee and Local Entrepreneurs in China

“…Informality is implicitly assumed, endogenously embraced, and flexibly enforced by horizontal peer pressures in a particularistic and personalized process (e.g., subjective, non-rational, people-oriented, and sentimental) (Li, 2007). Formality and informality can be reflected in various domains of business exchanges, including customer relationships, public relationships, and R&D collaborative relationships, all of which are critical for new ventures (Brush, Greene, & Hart, 2001).…”

“…Further, there is an ongoing debate regarding whether the formality-informality balance is complementary (e.g., Cardinal et al, 2004;Li, 2007) or substitutive (e.g., North, 1990;Peng, 2003). The current research is to shed light on the nature of the formality-informality balance within the context of 'West meets East' and increasing mobility of returnees to China.…”

“…The notion of formality and informality is central to economic and social exchanges as two fundamental dimensions of the governance mode for both inter-firm and intra-firm transactions (Li, 2007) in such contexts as organization control (Cardinal et al, 2004), organization hierarchy (Diefenbach & Sillince, 2011), social relations (Morand, 1995), and inter-firm collaborations (Zhang, Wan, Jia, & Gu. 2009).…”

The Impact of the Perceived Usefulness of Workplace Social Networks Upon the Innovative Behaviour of Sme Employees a Social Capital Perspective

“…Developing large numbers of interpersonal linkages by focusing on structure, relationships and culture is by no means an easy task for organisations (Granovetter, 1973;Li, 2007). Allen, James and Gamlen (2007) suggest that there are two main types of workplace networks that should be develop within an organisation, formal and informal.…”

“…Formal relationships provide the contact between employees, facilitating the development of informal ties or social networks. It is also important there be a mix of strong and weak ties, although weak ties provide new information to aid creativity and innovative behaviour, strong ties are important, because they provide relationships that are beneficial for problem solving (Li, 2007). Therefore, it is important that the organisation provides an appropriate organisational structure and communication tools.…”