A Theory of Social Capital Transference

Abstract

Brokerage – occupying a social network position that spans two otherwise disconnected alters – is a well-established construct in the social network literature. While most academic attention has been devoted to examining brokers’ role and interests in keeping the two alters separated, theorists have yet to clarify the mechanisms through which brokers act as connectors. Integrating socio-cognitive and discursive perspectives, we conceptualize social capital transference as the process enabling a broker to join the two alters by facilitating goodwill between them. More specifically, we theorize the discursive strategies that brokers use to engender, in each of the two alters, cognitive expectations on the nature of their potential relationship that, if validated, lead to the formation of a closed triad. Our study sheds new light on social capital dynamics through cognitive and discursive perspectives and improves understanding of the microfoundations of brokering.