Bridging Social Capital in Personal Networks: an Exploratory Analysis of Data from Urban China

Abstract

There is a revival of interest in bridging social capital. Previous research about individual`s bridging social capital has largely been based on analysis of social network ties. This research note refines and applies recent sociological ideas about personal networks to the area of individual`s bridging social capital. After summarizing the literature, an exploratory statistical analysis of the personal networks of 149 Chinese urbanites is presented. The argument is that women with larger personal networks have more bonding social capital, while men with larger personal networks have more bridging social capital. The analysis closes by elaborating on the theme that personal networks capture emergent properties that are not easily identified solely through the study of dyadic social relationships.