From Social Capital to Social Production Implications for Individuals, Organisations and Nations

Abstract

In recent years, the advancing and sophisticated interconnectivity of the fast-evolving interactive digital technologies have dramatically created a new space that is both virtual as well as physical, that is both conceptual as well as real. This new collaborative space known as the ‘co-space’ provides a new paradigm shift to the economic and social ecology of information and knowledge creation. For instance, various social networking tools and technologies that enable individuals and the communities to express, communicate, and interact to share their creative works and knowledge in the new ‘co-space’ can facilitate profound networks of relationships that not only constitute a valuable conduit for the conduct of social affairs but also the social production of intellectual capital. In other words, as social production becomes a critical contributor in the knowledge-based economy, it is important to recognize that the key to today’s innovations may be developing the organizational ability to harness such social production efforts so as to use them in the formulation of competitive actions at the individual, organizational as well as national level.