Роль человека в формировании социального капитала сетей

Abstract

When the theory of social capital develops in conjunction with the network approach, it expands ways of understanding the nature of social ties and the principles of social organization. At the same time, it gives rise to many related theoretical and methodological questions. One of them is the role of a person in the formation of social capital. Since social capital is generated within the structure of the relations of subjects and cannot personally belong to any of them, the fundamentals of the theory are the primacy of the group over the individual. Meanwhile, the characteristics of people involved in network relations play a specific role. As favorable conditions for social capital, the article examines a person’s deliberate choice of network behavior, expectations from network contacts, and the measured pace of network life. Conscious use of strategies aimed at joining social capital involves the selection of ways of networking. The criterion is the replenishment of common resources through cooperation, exchanges, investments in collective assets. Motivated participants in social communication establish mutually beneficial relationships, work with information, and look for opportunities for self-realization in social situations. Personal characteristics can improve the network position, affecting access to resource channels. By determining their usefulness, people focus on common needs, understanding of social contexts, and the increment of the collective good. Certain expectations from relationships give rise to connections that are filled with appropriate resources. Depending on expectations, ideas about the significance of other people are formed, the circle of contacts is determined, a person is looking for his place in the social network. To get what you expect, you need to remain visible and recognizable. In this way, looking at other people triggers the alignment of network communications, coordinating the flows of social capital. In addition, since it takes time for people to evaluate potential contacts and establish trust, the pace of network processes should maintain network stability, in other words, be moderate.