Influences of social capital on knowledge creation: An exploration in the UK built environment sector

Abstract

The UK built environment sector faces a number of important challenges such as reducing carbon emissions and cost. New knowledge should be created to develop new practices, competences and capabilities to overcome these challenges. Studies that characterise knowledge creation as a transformation process through the networks of social relationships and intra-organisational teams are needed to understand, and thus improve such processes in project environments. Structural, relational and cognitive dimensions of Social Capital (SC) influence the utilisation of knowledge creation opportunities inherent in project networks. Hence, SC provides the essential infrastructure for knowledge creation. A fresh approach to operationalising the concept of SC through social network analysis and content analysis is thus required. This paper develops and explores the conceptual relationships between knowledge creation and SC in the context of two live building projects. There are two main conclusions. First, structural network indices are indicators of knowledge creation opportunities but they should be considered in conjunction with the relational and cognitive dimensions to determine whether and how opportunities are being utilised. Second, project communication strategies should be designed to enable actors in structurally advantageous positions for knowledge creation to utilise these opportunities.

Keywords:

• social capital
• knowledge creation
• social network analysis
• absorptive capacity

Acknowledgements

The data presented in this paper were collected as part of a research project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, project reference: EP/C530160/1). It was collected by Dr Andrea Colantonio and Dr Noriko Otsuka.

Notes

1. Portes (1998) identifies Bourdieu (1986) as ‘the first systematic contemporary analysis of social capital’ and ‘the most theoretically refined among those that studies it in contemporary sociological discourse.’ Hence, Bourdieu's discourse on SC is taken as the basis in this paper.

2. The strength of a tie is a combination of the amount of time, the emotional intensity, the mutual confiding and reciprocating favours the individuals at its either end attributes to that tie.

3. Members are termed as nodes or actors in Social Network Theory. Hence, members, nodes and actors are used interchangeably in this paper.