Select a company for which you believe its social capital—both within the company and among its suppliers and customers—is vital to its competitive advantage.

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• Explain why you believe its social capital is so important to its competitive advantage. Support your arguments.

Due Day 7

Post 2 replies to classmates or your faculty member. Be constructive and professional.

Response 1.

I believe one of the best companies in terms of social capital that operates in the United States is Nike for both and good and bad reasons. Nike is a staple of the sports industry due to their multiple multi-million dollar deals to be the officially licensed product for sport leagues, teams, and individual players. Their products carry value off the brand name alone and their high-end products are culturally considered as status symbols i.e. Jordan brand, Nike Jerseys, Nike Shoes. 

Nike uses this social capital and leverages it to create demand for even the most basic of products like t-shirts which they sell above market value. However, Nike does not rest on their laurels and is willing to be active on social issues as well. One of the most noticeable instances of this is recent history was their campaign against racial inequality alongside former NFL athlete Colin Kaepernick.

Nike received threats of boycott, loss of revenue, and a lot of negative publicity from those that did not believe in this cause, but Nike’s social capital allowed it to not only continue operations but also gain new customers thanks to their willingness to stand behind that cause.

This takes place in an industry in which most companies decide to avoid the issue or remain impartial. It is in this willingness to “pick a side” that Nike gained an advantage from some of their competitors. 

Response 2. 

Social capital is a vital important resource for groups and society. It basically allows individuals to work together and benefit from social relationships. Without social capital our economy, political and society in general would not exist. One way of looking at it is, a binder/adhesive that holds it together.

There are different types of social capital, cognitive, relational, structural are a few, its common denominator is understanding the different relationships and social ties between individuals.

An example of a good use of social capital is Facebook, it strengthens bonds between strangers. Not all social media is bad. I have met family members I didn’t know I had and have fostered great relationships because of it. It also has lots of interesting clubs and if your’re interested then you link to it. You can list items to sell or purchase. If you have a small business and looking to do some advertising, Facebook is a great way to get it out there and network at the same time. You would be surprised the amount of good is in social media. Just the thought of bringing families, old friends together is amazing. 

With so much technology out there and global networking not just for personal use but businesses use it all the time to stay connected and to see what the new trends are and or list vacancies in their company. No better way to describe it. Social capital is the glue that binds.

Reference

Claridge, Tristan November 21, 2014:  Institute for Social Capital: What are the different types of social capital? 

www.socialcapitalresearch.com