ABSTRACT
Over the years, the concept of social capital has gathered attention at an extraordinary rate. Fine (2000) states that social theory is currently being rewritten through the lens of social capital. The idea that relationships and social networks are a valuable asset, in that they can facilitate action, is the common denominator. As such, much of the attention of scholars has focused on the tangible benefits social capital can provide and has, as such, been put to the test in a wide variety of contexts (e.g. Adler and Kwon 2002; Field 2004; Fine 2000; Portes and Sensenbrenner 1993; Woolcock 1998) demonstrating its relevance in those contexts. Despite its popularity, social capital has not yet crystallized and, conceptually, is still hampered by the lack of a common definition regarding the concept and its elements (Adam and Roncevic 2003). Furthermore, much attention in the literature has been directed to identifying social capital and less so to issues of how social capital is created, how it is put to use and how it is maintained.
