SOCIAL CAPITAL: EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT

Abstract

Background. The process of social capital formation as a full-fledged scientific theory reflects and explains important social processes. Constant communication and socialization process make new demands on the economy and economic mechanism. Now there are clear periods of technological change for which humanity at the subconscious level is ready and needs it. Most of these processes took place due to the constant functioning of social capital. The aim of the article is to identify and periodize the main stages of evolution of the social capital concept based on the study of its origin nature, and characteristics of key points that influence further theory process, definition of basic features and structure of social capital. Materials and methods. The works of foreign and domestic scholars on social capital were studied to solve this goal. Methods of historical and logical generalization, analysis and synthesis, comparison and generalization were used in the paper. Results. A significant amount of works on this concept has become a prerequisite for identifying and periodizing the evolution stages of the social capital concept: latent, conceptualization, the stage of convergence and pragmatization. The following approaches to the interpretation of social capital were formed in the second stage: sociological, historical, economic, institutional, political science and symbiotic. The study has confirmed the third stage of development of the social capital theory lasts, which is characterized by significant achievements in understanding its content and role in society, practical implementation of certain methodological provisions, on the one hand, and active discourse and pluralism of views on the social capital concept on the other hand. Conclusion. Historical retrospection of the formation process of the social capital concept, analysis of scholars’ views on its essence, their synthesis and development have allowed to determine the following main essential characteristics of the "social capital" concept and form its author’s vision as a set of social institutions, relations, norms, values, mutual trust structure. Its parameters affect the formation of other capital forms, management models and benefits in general, which are characterized by interconnectedness with human capital and the historical and cultural development context and management object. Keywords: social capital, trust, communication network, norms, institutional environment.