"Network
Capital in a Multi-Level World: Getting Support in Personal Communities"
Barry Wellman and Kenneth Frank. Forthcoming
in Social Capital: Theory and Research, edited by Nan Lin, Karen Cook
and Ronald Burt. Chicago: Aldine DeGruyter, 2000.
ABSTRACT
Multi-level
analysis provides a new approach to studying the sources of network capital
by integrating analyses of individuals, interpersonal ties and the personal
networks in which they are embedded. Using this approach aids theory and substantive
analysis. Toronto data show that while tie characteristics are key predictors
of supportive behavior, networks facilitate the supportive behavior of ties
and individuals. For example, parents and children are more supportive in networks
with high percentages of parents and children. Individual agency, dyadic duets,
and network properties all make network capital available for social support.