The concept and types of network capital (example of aircraft industry)

Abstract

The functioning of network forms of economic interaction leads to the formation and accumulation of special kind of capital — network capital — assets of a certain degree of specificity, capable of generating benefits only within the framework of these network structures. The article identifies the main types of network capital and the conditions for their formation. It is determined that the transition to increasingly close and dependent forms of network interactions is associated with the accumulation of a greater value and variety of network capital types. Depending on the availability of certain types of network capital, the amount of investment in specific assets, as well as the tightness of connections within the network, the main types of networks are identified — market, partner, dependent, clan and hierarchical networks. As an example, the main types of network capital formed in the global value chains of the aircraft industry are presented. It has been determined that the central agent of a network can simultaneously enter into network forms of cooperation with different companies, — different in terms of tightness and interdependence, while forming different types of total network capital. Neoclassical and institutional economic theories, theory of contracts, economic sociology were used as the methodological basis of the research.