Social capital of economic clusters: towards a network-based conception of social resources
Social capital of economic clusters: towards a network-based conception of social resources
To grasp the critical role of socio-cultural factors for regional economic development, several concepts have been developed, including that of 'social capital'. This notion usually refers to norms, values, networks, reciprocity or trust which are held in a community and can lead to positive social and economic outcomes. Despite its popularity as a fashionable concept in the literature, the exact meaning of social capital is far from clear. This paper criticises the dominant conceptions of social capital in economic geography and regional studies and aims to place the debate in a different perspective. It argues for an alternative understanding of social capital defined as resources embedded in social networks which can be accessed or are used for actions. The potential to overcome the current weaknesses in the literature is illustrated through discussing social capital of economic clusters.
social capital, social networks, social resources clusters, relational economic geography, knowledge spillovers
160-170
Huber, Franz
2ddb1e89-a096-434b-88e0-10da081b5ef6
April 2009
Huber, Franz
2ddb1e89-a096-434b-88e0-10da081b5ef6
Huber, Franz
(2009)
Social capital of economic clusters: towards a network-based conception of social resources.
Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 100 (2), .
(doi:10.1111/j.1467-9663.2009.00526.x).
Abstract
To grasp the critical role of socio-cultural factors for regional economic development, several concepts have been developed, including that of 'social capital'. This notion usually refers to norms, values, networks, reciprocity or trust which are held in a community and can lead to positive social and economic outcomes. Despite its popularity as a fashionable concept in the literature, the exact meaning of social capital is far from clear. This paper criticises the dominant conceptions of social capital in economic geography and regional studies and aims to place the debate in a different perspective. It argues for an alternative understanding of social capital defined as resources embedded in social networks which can be accessed or are used for actions. The potential to overcome the current weaknesses in the literature is illustrated through discussing social capital of economic clusters.
Text
Franz_Huber_TESG_final.doc
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 6 March 2009
Published date: April 2009
Keywords:
social capital, social networks, social resources clusters, relational economic geography, knowledge spillovers
Organisations:
Strategy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 201627
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/201627
ISSN: 0040-747X
PURE UUID: 218b0c24-5f2e-41a2-a638-b40dbe1085bc
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 31 Oct 2011 16:58
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:22
Export record
Altmetrics
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics