Abstract

The concept of social capital has received much attention in recent social-science research, and responds mainly to the pathbreaking research by Robert Putnam on Italy. In this article, the author discusses the stage of social capital research to date and develops a research agenda that results from the logic of social capital theory and includes research on the sources and consequences of social capital and the relationship between its cultural and structural aspects. The author argues that the research about the sources and origins of social capital remains most underdeveloped, but the empirical and theoretical literature about the influence of families, networks, economic conditions and institutions on the formation of social capital constitutes a beginning. It is also argued that the different conceptualizations we encounter in the work of James Coleman and Robert Putnam are not irreconcilable, but find their origin in the different focus on empirical research questions. The attitudinal and the network approach to social capital research can be linked in that we more clearly identify the causal relationship between membership in various networks and attitudinal indicators of social capital such as generalized trust and norms of reciprocity.

How to Cite:

Stolle, D., (1999) “Onderzoek naar sociaal kapitaal: naar een attitudinale benadering”, Tijdschrift voor Sociologie 20(3-4), 247–280. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.86476