Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital

"Social capital, the advantage created by location in social structure is a critical element in business strategy. Who has it, how it works and how to develop it have become key questions as markets, organizations and careers become more and more dependent on informal discretionary relationships. The formal organization deals with accountability; everything else flows through the informal; advice, coordination, cooperation, friendship, gossip, knowledge, trust [...] Ronald S. Burt builds on his celebrated work in this area to explore the nature of brokerage and closure. Brokerage is the activity of people who live at the intersecting of social worlds, who have a vision advantage of seeing and developing good…