Social Capital: Individual and Organisational necessity

By Rejoice Esi Asante (PhD)

How much more can we give to others in a world characterized with so much competition, rivalry and adversarial tendencies? The “Principle of Reciprocity” which says give and it shall be given to you, and the “Royal law” which stresses the need to love your neighbor as yourself, the very foundation of cooperation and trusting relationships, seems to be lost on this generation and the result is broken trust and relationships in homes, communities and organisations.

Due to excessive breakdown in trust, it is rare to see individuals pull resources together to support the common good. Community support which forms a major part of many societies has become a thing of the past. This article examines social capital, the benefits and the dark sides. It also draws some conclusions for individual and organizational reflection.

Social Capital (SC):

Social capital is not a new concept and it have been examined by many scholars for decades. introduced in 1916 by L. J. Hanifan, it emphasises the role of fellowship, good will and sympathy in rural communities (Conrad, 2007).

Social capital has been described as a community level attribute (Jacobs, 1961), as a neighbourhood network (Putnam, 1995), and represents features of social life, such as networks, norms, and trust, that enables people to act together in the pursuit of shared goals.

Grounded in mutual trust, cooperation, and reciprocity, SC has been viewed as a feature of groups (community level attributes or neighbour networks) and not necessarily individuals, even though individuals make up groups.

Trust is the foundation for SC, measured with questions about the level of trust and how it has influenced economic and political dimensions significantly (Coleman, 1990 and Putnam, 1993). Researchers suggest that the level of trust in a society influences economic success (Fukuyama, 1995).

Mask (2025) notes that SC in industry, is a set of relationships and assets existing within organisations and customers that enable business processes to function as efficiently and effectively as possible, indicating that high levels of SC enhances economic performance, improves government function and increase individual and organizational well-being.

Types of Social Capital

Social capital is broken into three types: relational, cognitive and structural capital (Mask, 2025). Others have broken it into bonding, bridging and linking social capital respectively (Claridge, 2018).

Relational capital refers to relationships within individual domains, similar to bonding capital which shows up in ties among similar people, i.e. family, close friends and acquaintances or emotional support. Cognitive capital, refers to knowledge acquired and shared with others in specific environments.

This is comparable to bridging capital which shows up in ties among diverse individuals, acquaintances and colleagues, representing weak ties. Structural capital refers to individual brands and processes. This is also related to linking capital which shows up in connections across power gradients for example citizens to governments and connects individuals across vertical, power-based or hierarchical levels to resources.

These capitals are demonstrated in potential outcomes of abilities, knowledge and actions. For instance, helping with neighbourhood night watch security, volunteering to join in cleaning a community, organizing fundraising activities in support of the less privileged, or providing good recommendations for less disadvantaged people. Thus, SC consists of three main dimensions that is structural (networks), relational (trust, obligations), and cognitive (shared understanding).

The Benefits of Social Capital

Social capital builds trust and trustworthiness for when trust collapses, relationship capital collapses because it is necessary for building trust. Trust is belief that another will act consistently with expectations of positive behaviour (OECD, 2025). Research shows that during economic problems, organisations high on SC, become resilience, displaying greater performance with substantial higher stock returns and sales growth compared to those with lower trust (Hilal, Kele? and Kele?, 2023).

The impact of SC on firm performance is seen in facilitating access to resources, information, and knowledge which are crucial for innovation and competitive advantage (Hongyun, et. al., 2019), It enhances efficiency by building stronger networks, leading to increasing production among others, reshapes the lives of the less privileged individuals and organisations in society and help build strong community relationships hinge on trust and collaboration.

In this way for instance people and organisations, can share resources, knowledge and ideas, leading to more productive and innovative environments (Knight and Malhotra, 2025). Apriyanto et. al., (2026) report that social value creation mediates capability that converts social capital into improved social and economic outcomes.

When trust, cooperation and civic engagements grow in the spirit of SC, poverty tends to decline. Knight and Malhotra (2025) observed that “these connections lay the groundwork for systems the help farmers thrive and they derive value from trusted networks, such as markets that pay fair prices and financial groups that offer small loans”. When trust and cooperation grow, there is the potential for people to earn more, support one another and build stronger, more resilient communities

The Dark Side of Social Capital

Much as SC is recognized for the positive contributions to individuals, communities and organisations, it has dark sides with negative consequences. It has led to the exclusion of outsiders (out-groups), marginalizing them, excessive claim on members (sometimes hindering personal economic development), leading to conformity to negative behaviours, eroding trust thereby facilitating illegal activities and criminal tendencies, and also restricting freedom and causing intergroup conflict.

Studies have confirmed malicious intent, the tendency for individuals to overshare personal information online; misinformation, the unintended strengthening of false information as it moves through networks of like-minded individuals; crime explosion, encouraging illegal behaviour, and shielding individuals engaged in criminal acts; economic disorder, where networks build on favouritism, nepotism, or corruption which excludes deserving individuals and hinder socio-economic progress: and  strike action, serving as a means to advocate for worker rights, SC can be used to manipulate and exploit labour movements,  among others as some of the negative consequences of SC.

Individual and Organisational Reflections

For individuals, networking and building social capital serves as an asset to mobilise resources such as information, influence and support through connections. Individuals could make the most of bonding or relational capital and bridging capital. These allows for building strong ties with family and close friend for emotional support and building acquaintances for new information and opportunities.

Personal social capital is the basic level of SC in organizations and is important both for employees and organizations (Ben?Hador, Eckhaus and Klein, 2021). High personal SC is directly linked to better career outcomes, including promotions, higher salaries, and faster job-seeking success, while strong personal networks, buffer stress and increase coping abilities, improving long-term health. (Dobrev & Merluzzi, 2018).

Investing in SC shows there is no “self-made man.” Although individual effort may create great wealth, there is reliance on resources and social infrastructure that originate ultimately in God. The scriptures, referencing SC, emphasise the need to build trust, community, and reciprocal relationships for mutual benefit and to honor God.

In terms of collaborative effort and community (bonding capital) Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: highlights that “two are better than one” because they have a good return for their labor and can help each other up, illustrating the power of partnership while 1 Corinthians 12:14-27: emphasizes interdependence and cohesion, where members rely on one another.

For organisations, employing SC, drives organizational performance, promoting innovation and lowering turnover. Rababah, et, al., (2022), found that financial literacy and intellectual capital significantly enhanced the firm’s internal and external social capital.

Thus, organisations must nurture social capital to increase and build a culture of trust, collaboration, and relationships with stakeholders. Another aspect of SC biblically observes investing in relationships and favour banking also known as bridging capital. Luke 16:1-9, looks at the Parable of the “Dishonest Steward”, who used “social capital” or “favour banking” by using resources to build relationships that lasted. This is a call to build social capital.

Galatians 6:10, encourages doing good to everyone, “especially unto those who are of the household of faith,” building trust within the community, while Proverbs 17:17 & 27:17: emphasizes that friendship and iron sharpening iron (mutual development) are essential, high-value connections.

It is important for both individuals and organisations to invest intentionally in social capital. In terms of mutual aid and social responsibility, the scriptures in Proverbs 19:17 contends that having pity on the poor is lending to the Lord, suggesting that investing in the needy is a form of spiritual and social capital that God rewards. Haggai 1:1-2:19: also suggests that ignoring the needs of the community (failing to invest in social capital) diminishes individual productivity and prosperity.

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