This research-in-progress paper investigates the relationship among the use of social networking sites (SNSs), users’ social capital and knowledge sharing through digital Word of Mouth (WOM). The rise of SNSs has changed the way people interact and network. SNSs make it possible for users to keep track of their existing relationships and to build new ones. The SNSs have potential to build socia...

As a concept that is rooted in many different social sciences including sociology, education, politics, economics and management, social capital encompasses a number of dimensions. Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) suggest that social capital has three distinct dimensions: structural, relational and cognitive. Cognitive social capital is created through communicative language, narratives and codes wh...

This paper explores Bourdieu's account of a relational social space, and his relative neglect of social interaction within this framework. Bourdieu includes social capital as one of the key relational elements of his social space, but says much less about it than economic or cultural capital, and levels of social capital are rarely measured in his work. Bourdieu is reluctant to focus on the con...

Individuals’ use of safeguards against information security risks is commonly conceptualized as the result of a risk-benefit analysis. This economic perspective assumes a “rational actor” whereas risk is subjectively perceived by people who may be influenced by a number of social, psychological, cultural, and other “soft” factors. Their decisions thus may deviate from what economic risk assessm...

Organization scholars have highlighted the value of relationships in fostering effective exchange, suggesting that repeated exchange creates a relational asset with latent value derived from elevated social connections, norms, and simple expectations of exchange continuity. Yet the empirical evidence supporting such claims remains largely indirect. As a consequence, few studies have been able t...

Organizational social capital is critical to effective organizational functioning. Yet, different aspects of social capital are likely to be present to varying degrees within any given organization. In this study, alternative blends of structural, relational and cognitive social capital are modelled using a range of key organizational variables drawn from an incomplete dataset. A novel evidence...

The social learning network (SLN) constructed based on web 2.0 techniques demonstrates some unique characteristics comparing to traditional e-learning context based on 1.0 technique. In response to the new characteristics in SLN, we advance the theoretical understanding of user satisfaction by reconceptualising e-learning as a relational process among students. Based on that, we draw on network...

This chapter views social networking sites as supporting social capital and the advantages which derive from it, namely emotional support, information exchange, and a capacity for concerted action. Social capital is subdivided in three types: relational, cognitive, and structural. The authors derive a number of social needs from these types of social capital and discuss how the social networkin...