Tanrıverdi, Gökhan; Besler, Senem

Social embeddedness and social capital are important concepts for businesses that operate in a closed network like production and service districts (Staber & Morrison, 1999). These are also two basic concepts that shape the organizational networks theory (Sözen & Gürbüz, 2015). Granovetter (1985) with his rhetoric of social embeddedness argued that economic moves are embedded in long-term informal connections in a given network. Coleman (1988) also stated that there are long-term embedded informal relationships, which are called social capital, consisting of exchanges that are subject to connections between people who have the power to perform the desired action. Connections with whom one is linked, and exchanges via that connections thus become important (Christakis & Fowler, 2009, p. 27). Some of the exchanges, embedded in personal and business networks include information, ideas, advice, financial capital, and other resources (Baker, 2000, p. 1-2). Organizations aim to benefit from these exchanges through their managers' social capital. In this regard, the literature reveals that it is easier for organizations to access resources through social capital, and this has a positive effect on their economic performance and competitive advantage (Acquaah, 2007; Andrews, 2010; Chuang et al., 2016; Hoelscher et al., 2005; Westlund & Adam, 2010)