Prosperity of Companies and Countries -Is Social Capital the Missing Resource?

Abstract

Social capital is a non-price resource of high value for creation of wealth by enterprises. It constitutes an imperative precondition for the development and exploitation of human and knowledge resources toward their sustained profitable growth. This paper outlines briefly the nature, importance, value-orientations, wealth-creation role and developmental requirements of social capital. It highlights the role and relationship of social capital with human capital and knowledge management, in the form of a dense, dynamic nexus. The latter underlies an organization's meta-level or holistic capacity to meet challenges and exploit opportunities in its continual quest for wealth creation. The relevance of social capital for prosperity of nations stems from the fact that countries function and achieve their goals only through their organizations and people. The prowess and potential of social capital are finally seen to be bound up with the fulfilment of man's deep spiritual hunger for purpose and meaning in work and life.