Open research questions in Social Capital and Networks
88 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 3,171 Social Capital and Networks papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.
What the literature leaves open
Third, the findings documented in this study are specific to the Chinese context, and it remains an open question whether or not we can generalize our conclusions cross- nationally; comparative studies are thus needed to explore the influence of macro-level sociocultural and sociopolitical environments.
Empirical applications of this theory have produced mixed results, however, and the literature is dominated by a US focus and methodological disputes that make determining generalizability beyond the US difficult.
For each of these, it finds that while some aspects of Luhmann’s contribution have experienced widespread (if not always explicit) adoption already, others have remained underresearched and hold great promise for further study, making Luhmann’s theory a veritable ‘treasure trove’ for trust research.
With limited research on the theme of social capital taking into account generational differences, this study challenges the concept and examines the extent of social capital variables such as local community participation, social support, trust, and reciprocity within young and old individuals in the Ghasran rural district of Iran.
Social Capital Change: Investigating Old and New Generations of Rural Communities. Case Study: Ghasran Rural District, Shemiranat Region, Tehran · 2016 · DOIIn view of these data, we suggest further studies on the qualitative dimensions of SC, applying an action research methodology, with the aim of encouraging participation and cooperation channels among training institutions and the fishing communities and their families.
While Wallace, Pichler and Haerpfer (2012) analyse the trend only in four countries in the region: Poland, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania, the current paper extends the comparison by including other six countries, not investigated by Wallace, Pichler and Haerpfer (2012) namely: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic.
Membership in Civic Association in Central and Eastern Europe: A Longitudinal Analysis · 2013It neglects the imperatives of capitalism, underestimates of the impact of unequal power relations on business relationships, fails to incorporate time, fetishises proximity, treats entrepreneurship simplistically, promotes the chaotic concept of institutional thickness, and is limited by the chaotic concept of social capital.
Although further investigation of the case study site found seeds of community activity in urban areas and a social assistance structure embedded in the region's rural businesses, the apparent absence of social capital among study respondents raised questions about the universality and utility of current social capital theory.
Social Capital for Development: What Does it Mean if There Isn't Any? A Case Study of Agricultural Producers in Dmitrov Rayon, Russia · 2002 · DOIContinued research on data quality is needed; beyond improved samples and further investigation of the informant accuracy/reliability issue, this should cover common indices of network structure, address the consequences of sampling portions of a network, and examine the robustness of indicators of network structure and position to both random and nonrandom errors of measurement.
To begin with, the model underlying the catalogue is scarcely to be dignified with that name. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS For further work on community social indicators, our recommendations are threefold.
Level 3 Complex, varied work with precisely delimited complex goals and means limited by a general framework, allowing a minimum of choice or of applying a creative aspect, work re quiring either general secondary or higher technical education, or sometimes even lower professional training.
Whether trust destruction has a comparably destructive effect on the group product remains to be determined. The fact that this type of study can be undertaken should stimulate the many additional studies of the complex relationship be- tween interpersonal trust and communi- cation which must be undertaken.
Increasing income inequality has raised concerns about its effects on social cohesion, yet the subjective dimension of inequality and its relation to trust remain underexplored.
It also sheds light on a relatively understudied factor in the formation of political trust: the relation towards the future of society, which is considered an exogenous source of trust.
But what does it mean for someone to be a best friend? While there is a large empirical literature studying the antecedents and consequences of best friendships and a small body of philosophical research on this topic, this question has not been addressed in detail.
However, its impact on the non-economic aspects of social progress that characterize advanced societies, such as personal rights, freedom, tolerance and inclusion and access to advanced education is still understudied, especially at the subnational level.
Social trust and the advanced aspects of social progress. Evidence for the European regions · 2024 · DOIThe literature analysis has confirmed a gap in research on assessing and comparing macroeconomic stability at different levels of development, especially in terms of studies that consider the behavioural (culture and trust) dimensions and the quality of institutions.
Macroeconomic stability of the country: the nexus of institutional and behavioural dimensions · 2023 · DOIWhile objective aspects of social embeddedness, that is organizational membership and inter-relational contact, are established predictors of these outcomes, perceived loneliness is rarely investigated.
The Influence of Loneliness on Perceived Connectedness and Trust Beliefs – Longitudinal Evidence from the Netherlands · 2022 · DOIAlthough research examining voting behavior through a collective efficacy framework is scarce, findings suggest that collective efficacy is a useful framework for explaining civic participation.
Social cohesion, internal efficacy, and external efficacy: Studying voting behavior using collective efficacy theory · 2020 · DOIAlthough peer relations are recognized as a fundamental developmental context, they have been rarely studied as a means of understanding the effects of socioeconomic status and inequality.
Knowledge surrounding exactly how social capital is utilized within the desistance process, with the exception of acquiring social capital as a social good, remains underexplored.
Originality/value This study fills a significant gap in the literature, since so far little attention has been paid to individual/household social capital endowment as possible determinant of active citizenship.
Yet organizational leaders’ external professional friendship ties with peers – an understudied type of informal relationship – may mitigate the effects of resource competition.
Professional Friendship, Resource Competition, and Collaboration in a Homeless Service Delivery Network · 2019 · DOIDespite ongoing worries about the state of social cohesion in contemporary societies, surprisingly little is known as to which macro-level conditions actually weaken social cohesion, and which foster it.
With the rapid onset of modernization, social norms have gradually fallen by the wayside and new social integration mechanisms have not yet been fully established, resulting in a state of generalized social anomie in China.
Social change and generalized anomie: Why economic development has reduced social trust in China · 2018 · DOI
Most-cited papers in Social Capital and Networks
- Network Data and Measurement · Annual Review of Sociology · 1990 · 1,352 citations
- Social Capital and Finding a Job: Do Contacts Matter? · American Sociological Review · 2003 · 338 citations
- Secondhand Brokerage: Evidence On The Importance Of Local Structure For Managers, Bankers, And Analysts · Academy of Management Journal · 2007 · 307 citations
- Social Capital and Homicide · Social Forces · 2001 · 288 citations
- Trust in Social Relations · Annual Review of Sociology · 2021 · 266 citations
- Test of a Trust and Confidence Model in the Applied Context of Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Risks · Risk Analysis · 2003 · 264 citations
- The trouble with trust: Time-series analysis of social capital, income inequality, and COVID-19 deaths in 84 countries · Social Science & Medicine · 2020 · 243 citations
- Value Consensus and Importance · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · 2000 · 241 citations
- Measurement invariance in the social sciences: Historical development, methodological challenges, state of the art, and future perspectives · Social Science Research · 2022 · 209 citations
- Social Capital and Mental Distress in an Impoverished Community · City and Community · 2002 · 203 citations
Most recent work
- Bringing External Validity into Sociological Research · KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie · 2026
- Does political trust strengthen democracy? A cross-national longitudinal analysis · International Political Science Review · 2026
- Nonprofit Resilience and Adaptive Capacity: Bonding and Bridging Social Capital in Local Collaborative Networks · Management Communication Quarterly · 2026
- Construction and structural analysis of family social networks from a complex network perspective: Evidence from CFPS data · International Journal of Modern Physics C · 2026
- Structural social capital and cognitive decline in Europe: longitudinal evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe · Aging & Mental Health · 2026
- Social Capital and Social Connectedness in University Students: Hakkari University Example · Iğdır Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi · 2026
- Trajectories in tension: social capital, access to resources, and structural trials in Chile and Mexico · Frontiers in Sociology · 2026
- Social trust and productivity: evidence from European NUTS-2 regions · Figshare · 2026
- The Impact of Social Capital on Youth Entrepreneurship (The Case of Russia) · Теория и практика общественного развития · 2026
- An Empirical Study of Trust and Reciprocity Norms in Contemporary Chinese Society · Теория и практика общественного развития · 2026
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