Title: What is bridging social capital?
Headings: What is Bridging Social Capital?
What is Bridging Social Capital?
A third type – linking social capital?
Benefits of bridging social capital
Negative effects of bridging social capital
Creating bridging social capital
Footnotes
About The Author
Tristan Claridge
Follow Us
Translate

Content: By Tristan Claridge / January 7, 2018
February 26, 2021
/ 4 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment
Bridging social capital is a type of social capital that describes connections that link people across a cleavage that typically divides society (such as race, or class, or religion). It is associations that ‘bridge’ between communities, groups, or organisations. Bridging social capital is different from bonding social capital, which is within social groups and is characterised by dense networks with people feeling a sense on shared identity and belonging. The bonding/bridging distinction has roots in network analysis is based on methodological individualism and rational choice theory. These distinctions have been criticised for amalgamating a variety of contradictory aspects of both networks and norms into single categories [1]. A different approach involves the distinction between structural and cognitive dimensions of social capital. The bonding/bridging distinction can be made in relation to a range of relationship and network characteristics. The table below summarises the main features of each. Bonding social capital
Bridging social capital
Within
Between
Intra
Inter
Exclusive
Inclusive
Closed
Open
Inward looking
Outward looking
“Getting by”
“Getting ahead”
Horizontal
Vertical [2]
Strong ties
Weak ties
People who are alike
People who are different
Thick trust
Thin trust
Network closure
Structural holes
Public-good model
Private-good model
Bridging describe social relationships of exchange, often of associations between people with shared interests or goals but contrasting social identity [3]. Although friends are normally considered bonding social capital, friendships may also act as bridging relations, in that they may be between people of different cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic backgrounds, or ages, who may in turn provide access to information and other groups or individuals not previously known to the other [4].