A Social Capital Theory of Career Success

Abstract

A model integrating competing theories of social capital with research on career success was developed and tested in a sample of 448 employees with various occupations and organizations. Social capital was conceptualized in terms of network structure and social resources. Results of structural equation modeling showed that network structure was related to social resources and that the effects of social resources on career success were fully mediated by three network benefits: access to information, access to resources, and career sponsorship.