This study examines how social actors interpret alcohol consumption as a relationally consequential practice associated with individual social capital among entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in Brazil and Vietnam. Adopting an interpretive, microsociological perspective, it explores whether drinking contexts are perceived as shaping identity, social belonging, boundary negotiation and access to networks across cultural and occupational settings.
A survey was conducted with 300 adult alcohol consumers in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Hanoi (Vietnam). Drawing on Bourdieu's and Coleman's theories of social capital, the study develops the Alcohol Social Capital Indicator (ASCI), capturing self-reported relational orientations across seven dimensions: identity, power/influence, social boundaries, network, norms, resources and collective action. Data were analyzed using t-tests, Levene's tests and exploratory multinomial logistic regression, with findings interpreted as associative rather than causal.
Alcohol consumption is not perceived as socially neutral but is interpreted in relational terms linked to identity reinforcement, symbolic boundary negotiation, network interaction and access to opportunities. Respondents in Hanoi reported stronger relational orientations than those in Belo Horizonte, reflecting more collective drinking norms. Entrepreneurs consistently report higher relational orientations. Exploratory analyses indicate that orientations toward network interaction, resource access and boundary negotiation are associated with entrepreneurial self-identification.
This study is cross-sectional and cannot establish causality between drinking practices and social capital formation. The reliance on self-reported data may introduce recall and social desirability bias. Cultural nuances in interpretation of the Likert scale may also influence responses. Future research should use longitudinal or mixed-methods designs to explore how drinking practices shape social capital over time and under what contextual conditions norms and collective action become more influential.
The findings highlight how alcohol-mediated interactions are interpreted as relevant for network expansion, identity signaling and perceived access to opportunities. Organizations and entrepreneurs operating in culturally embedded drinking environments should recognize how such practices shape legitimacy, relationship building and informal exchanges. The ASCI offers a tool for managers and policymakers to better understand how individuals interpret social interaction in these settings and to design more inclusive strategies, services and organizational practices that account for the role of informal sociability, without presuming that alcohol use itself produces relational or professional advantages.
The findings suggest that alcohol-mediated sociability is widely interpreted as a relational context linked to belonging, identity expression and perceived access to opportunities. At the same time, these practices carry ambivalent consequences, including the exclusion of abstainers, reinforcement of symbolic boundaries and pressures to conform. Recognizing these dynamics can support the development of more inclusive social and organizational environments, particularly in contexts where drinking is normative. The study highlights the importance of critically examining informal interaction practices, as they may simultaneously facilitate connection while reproducing inequality and unequal access to social and professional opportunities.
This study reframes alcohol-mediated interactions as a relational context through which individuals interpret social capital. By integrating resource-based and normative perspectives and introducing the ASCI as an exploratory indicator, it provides cross-cultural evidence on informal networks, symbolic boundaries, and unequal access to social opportunities, while acknowledging the limits of alcohol-centered sociability.
