Global Corporate Executives' SOCIAL CAPITAL Formation Experiences

There is growing interest in examining social capital and how it influences communities, organizations, and individuals. This research seeks to determine how social capital is developed among senior executives in a global organization. This study explores to what extent and in what ways perceptions of business executives’ social networks are reportedly impacted as a result of participating in in-person seminars arranged by their organization. More specifically, this study seeks to understand the effect of a seminar that acts as a social intervention and impacts the participants’ perceptions of: social networks and their benefits, barriers, facilitating elements, and institutional support factors. In today’s global business environment, organizations must respond quickly to everchanging business conditions (Cohen & Prusak, 2001). Business leaders increasingly are responding to these challenges with proactive efforts to build institutional social capital. Social capital can be defined as the actual and potential resources of an individual or social unit embedded in and derived from network relationships (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Social networks can be defined as social structures made of nodes (individuals, groups, or organizations) that are joined by various interactions such as business and personal relationships (Tichy, Tushman & Fombrum, 1979). Through social networks, which include business and personal relationships intersecting with adult learning practices, executives can support one another through the exchange of useful informational resources. These in turn become valuable assets known as social capital. As companies recognize the importance of networking opportunities among their executives, they often create circumstances and settings whereby their employees can meet with each other and exchange useful informational resources. Social capital-building interventions include workshops, seminars, receptions, and the like. A significant concern that research can inform is that global executives need a better understanding of how valuable social networks are formed and maintained through such resource-heavy social interventions. Executives can benefit by utilizing social networks from past meetings as resources. By carefully examining aspects of social capital formation, they may be able to use findings to positively impact future interventions for improved organizational performance. However, little research exists that examines the ways that global executives’ social networks are impacted through such social interventions. The purpose of this study is to understand how senior executives’ perceptions of their work-related social networks are reportedly impacted by attending an annual leadership development seminar sponsored by their employing global organization. I identify key components that are required for networking activities mainly from the social capital literatures. My queries include key components including trust, norms, obligations, expectations, and identity as reflected in survey scales in the quantitative design. I plan to investigate possible facilitating factors for and barriers to networking in the survey instruments as well. In this way, I will be able to obtain information on key networking indicators, perhaps extending findings to larger populations. Selective research subject interviews will hopefully generate related episodes surrounding social capital as well.