Chapter 8: Emotional Intelligence,Leader-Member Exchange, And Individual Contributions To Organizational Social Capital

Considerable organizational research in recent years has focused on the concept of social capital. Researchers have studied the social capital of individuals (e.g., Burt, 1992, 1997; Friedman & Krackhardt, 1997; McFadyen & Cannella, 2004; Seibert, Kramer, & Liden, 2001), groups/teams (e.g., Cummings & Cross, 2003; Oh, Chung, & Labianca, 2004; Reagans & Zuckerman, 2001; Reagans, Zuckerman, & McEvily, 2004), and organizations (e.g., Ahuja, 2000; Capelli, 2004; Koka & Prescott, 2002; McEvily & Zaheer, 1999; Tsai, 2000; Uzzi & Gillespie, 2002). Much of this research, however, has concentrated primarily on outcomes associated with possessing social capital in its various forms.

While the growing body of organizational research on social capital has informed our understanding of its effects on a variety of outcomes, less attention has been devoted to the examination of factors that lead to its creation. Additionally, while research has examined social capital at various levels of analysis, little previous research has considered possible antecedents of individual contributions to the social capital of their organization. Building the relationships that represent organizational social capital requires an investment of time and energy on the part of individuals. Such effort could alternatively be devoted to other activities from which individuals might personally benefit. Accordingly, an important question to be explored is what motivates individuals to invest their time and energy in the creation and maintenance of relationships that build organizational social capital?