American Behavioral Scientist current issue

Building Bridges: Linking Social Capital and Social Networks to Improve Theory and Research

Moody, J., Paxton, P. — 2009-06-12

A Typology for Understanding the Connections Among Different Forms of Social Capital

Glanville, J. L., Bienenstock, E. J. — 2009-06-12

Critics have argued that the term social capital is too vague or general to be a useful concept. Recognizing the need for clarification, the authors distill the conceptual discussions about social capital to argue that there are three components_network structure, trust and reciprocity, and resources_that are associated with but vary in degree and salience for all forms of social capital. These three components should be considered continua along which the forms of social capital can vary. A fourth continuum is between micro and macro levels of social capital. Locating particular examples of social capital along these continua opens the possibility to compare different types of social capital and to develop and test theories about how they are related to each other. The authors also describe a simulation study to illustrate how simulation can facilitate understanding of the linkages among different forms of social capital.

Social Capital, Double Embeddedness, and Mechanisms of Stability and Change

Baker, W., Faulkner, R. R. — 2009-06-12

The authors coin the term double embeddedness to denote the two-sided nature of communities, markets, and organizations—where social, political, and economic actions are embedded in social structure and culture. Structural embeddedness and cultural embeddedness and their interactions are variable, dynamic, and complex. The authors develop a typology based on these two forms of embeddedness, illustrating four ideal-types with examples from the United States and Europe. Two paths of stability and change in the United States are analyzed. The first is the observed decline of social capital coupled with the observed stability of shared values. The second is the hypothesized geographical polarization of values and networks, such as red versus blue states. Applying Coleman's macro—micro—macro model, it is shown that these two paths are the first and second cycles of a two-cycle model of social change. Also analyzed are some of the social mechanisms (situational, action formation, and transformational) that underlie this two-cycle model.

Illuminating the Downside of Social Capital: Negotiated Coexistence, Property Crime, and Disorder in Urban Neighborhoods

Browning, C. R. — 2009-06-12

The potential "downside" of social capital has received relatively limited attention in research to date. In this article, the author presents a theoretical approach to urban crime and criminogenic conditions that emphasizes the potential for competition between two types of social capital, social network—based reciprocated exchange and collective efficacy, in the regulation of neighborhood crime. This "negotiated coexistence" approach hypothesizes that as network interaction and reciprocated exchange among neighborhood residents increase, offenders and conventional residents become increasingly interdependent. In turn, the social capital provided by network integration of offenders may diminish the regulatory effectiveness of collective efficacy. Using data from the 1990 Census and the 1994-1995 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods Community Survey, the author tests the negotiated-coexistence model against competing expectations regarding the association between networks, collective efficacy, and crime. Consistent with the negotiated-coexistence approach, ordinary least squares and spatial regression models of property crime and social disorder indicate that the regulatory effects of collective efficacy on crime are reduced in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of network interaction and reciprocated exchange.

Neighborhood Social Capital as Differential Social Organization: Resident and Leadership Dimensions

Sampson, R. J., Graif, C. — 2009-06-12

This article treats social capital as a multidimensional phenomenon along which neighborhoods are differentially organized. The authors assess this notion by linking two original surveys carried out in Chicago based on community residents (N = 8,782) and positional leaders (N = 2,822) representing six organizational dimensions. These data are used to examine both the dimensionality and structural predictors of neighborhood social organization. Results show that the social capital of Chicago communities encapsulates four distinct dimensions at the residential level and two at the leadership level. Moreover, dimensions of leadership-based social capital are for the most part inversely related to resident-based social capital and differentially predicted by concentrated disadvantage, residential stability, and racial/ethnic diversity. Based on multidimensional scaling and clustering of the communities, the authors derive a conceptual typology highlighted by four distinct groups—Cosmopolitan Efficacy, Urban Villages, Institutional Alienation, and Conduct Norms. The authors discuss implications and suggest new directions for exploration of community differentiation.