Social Glue - The importance of bonding and bridging social capital for social
enterprises.
Dr Cathy Sharp, October 2004
Interest in the concept of social capital reflects the wider UK-wide
policy discourse around social exclusion and related issues of empowerment
and participation (Social Exclusion Unit, 1998). The recent Scottish
Community Regeneration Statement identified the development of social
capital as key to improving the quality of life in deprived communities:
it defined social capital as "where a local community has the skills,
resources, networks, opportunities and motivation to work together
effectively to promote it's own wellbeing" (Scottish Executive, 2002).
Definitions are highly contested in the literature and space does not
allow for a full analysis of all the key concepts being deployed here.
However, social capital may best be understood as a (perhaps dormant)
resource that exists through informal social networks. In essence it is a
positive form of 'social glue' that provides resources to individuals and
communities; the term can be seen as "a shorthand for the positive
consequences of sociability" (Portes, A. 1998).
A distinction has emerged in the literature between 'support or bonding
capital' and 'leverage or bridging capital'. Bonding capital helps people
'get by'. It is often provided by horizontal networks of family and
socially similar others at a local level. Bridging capital helps people
'get ahead' by changing their life chances or by creating opportunities.
This calls for having diverse ties, or vertical networks of dissimilar
others (Smith, 1998; Sharp, C 1999; Forrest, R and Kearns, A 1999).
Granovetter coined the term 'the strength of weak ties' to refer to the
power of non-kin indirect influences to serve as informal referral
systems, particularly for finding work (Portes, A. 1998). This idea has
been discussed in a British context by the author Perri 6, who argues that
adults need weak ties to those who can act as brokers in networks:
"… a single message emerges relentlessly. As an adult in the labour force,
having a network that is rich in weak ties which span holes in social
networks to reach acquaintances and friends of friends across many walks
of life proves to be much more effective - at least in the long run - than
having a narrow network of strong ties to kin, immediate neighbours and
people much like oneself" (Perri 6, 1997).
He develops the idea of 'network poverty', experienced by individuals who
do not have the social network configuration of family, friendship or
community relationships that they need to thrive (Perri 6, 1997). Whilst
good networks are useful in the labour market, they are also linked to
mental and physical health as supportive ties and densely-knit networks
foster good health, provide useful resources for dealing with stress, and
give network members useful feedback about their behaviour (Wellman,
1982).
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Notes: The argument above is about developing social capital to regenerate
communities, but I think pretty much the same argument would apply to
social enterprise. The Perri 6 material is particularly relevant. In case
of interest, the references from that section are:
Forrest, R and Kearns, A (1999) Joined-up Places? Social cohesion and
neighbourhood regeneration, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Scottish Executive (2002) Better Communities in Scotland: Closing the Gap,
Scottish Executive
Sharp, C (1999) Getting by or getting ahead? Social Networks and the
Regeneration of Finsbury Park, in Rising East Vol 3, Number 2
Social Exclusion Unit (1998) Bringing Britain Together: a National
Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, Cmnd 4045, HMSO
Smith, Greg (1998) A Very Social Capital: Measuring the vital signs of
community life in Newham. in Rising East Vol 2, Number 1
Portes, A (1998) Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern
Sociology. Annual Review of Sociology
Perri 6 (1997) Escaping Poverty: from safety nets to networks of
opportunity, Arguments 13, Demos
Wellman, B (1982) Studying Personal Communities in Marsden, P and Lin, N (eds)
Social Structure and Network Analysis, Sage.
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