Supporting Social Capital by Utilizing Community Network Positions

Social Capital And Cop Network Positions

CoPs in organizations are a significant source of social capital. The fundament under a CoP is the network of community members that meet each other, interact, communicate, exchange ideas, and collaborate (Steinfield, DiMicco, Ellison, & Lampe, 2009). White (2002) recognizes that social networks are increasingly used as a proxy for social capital. Two typical streams are distinguished to look at social capital: an individual perspective (Coleman, 1988) and a group perspective (Putnam, 1995). Discussing individual social capital from a network perspective is speaking about terms of centrality. The group social capital is often associated with patterns of relationships within the group, for example in the form of cohesion and density (Prell, 2006). In this study, the focus is on identifying the levels of individual centrality in the community network. An individual’s centrality is a measurement to evaluate one’s social capital and provide insight into the position of the individual within the community network. Knowing the individual social capital and the related network positions contribute to an organization’s strategy development regarding the monitoring and evaluation of developments in CoPs.