Social capital and the social context of business networks: The case of Thailand

This study explores the nature of social context that facilitates how social capital is developed, utilised, and maintained in the case of Thailand. Like many of its neighbouring countries, Thailand’s businesses function is an environment dominated by complex networks encompassing social and business interactions. The extent of this interweaving of social and business networks is far beyond that experienced in Western cultures and only recently attracted the attention of researchers. Thailand’s business networks are shaped as a result of the nation’s cultural characteristics, such as collectivism, Buddhism philosophy, particularism, reluctance to change, relationship orientation, and hierarchical structure. These characteristics enable the creation, utilisation, and maintenance of structural, relational, and cognitive social capital