What People Make of Social Capital Online: Empirical Study on Capital Conversion via Networking Sites

Leiner, Dominik J. ; Hohlfeld, Ralf und Quiring, Oliver (22. March 2010): What People Make of Social Capital Online: Empirical Study on Capital Conversion via Networking Sites. SSRN

Abstract

Social capital is considered an important aspect of online social networks and the idea that it can be converted into other forms of capital, is central to the capital concept. Examples of such a conversion are finding a job or obtaining information faster than others. However, the conversion and, therefore, the relevance of online social capital have not been sufficiently researched. Results from an online survey conducted on three German SNS indicate large interpersonal differences in the effectiveness of social capital conversion. They are best explained by the amount of available social capital and active investments in social capital, i.e., networking. Surprisingly, demographic attributes and network size only affect the amount of available social capital, but not the effectiveness of its conversion.

• Item Type: Paper
• Form of publication: Preprint
• Keywords: Social Media
• Faculties: Social Sciences > Department of Communications and Media (IfKW)
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology; 300 Social sciences > 380 Commerce, communications and transportation
• Language: English