Cited by 145Social Capital and NetworksSocial Power and Status DynamicsSocial and Cultural Dynamics

Trust and reciprocity: a theoretical distinction of the sources of social capital.

Torche, Florencia, Valenzuela, Eduardo·2011·European Journal of Social Theory

Abstract

The social capital literature has focused on the functional and structural properties of social relations, partially neglecting the way in which they are experienced by individuals. Drawing on anthropological and social theory, this article distinguishes two ideal-typical forms of social capital — reciprocity and trust — based on the meaning of the social relations that embed them. Reciprocity is the type of social capital embedded within personal relations, triply defined in the factual, social and temporal dimensions by co-presence, reciprocity and memory, respectively. Trust is the type of social capital embedded within relations with strangers, defined by the condition of impersonality or anonymity. These two types of social capital cannot be reduced to extremes in a continuum, nor are they fungible, and while reciprocity is by definition particularistic (this is the source of its strength as a linking mechanism), trust has a universalistic potential. Analytical and empirical implications of this distinction are outlined.

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Crossref · 10.1177/1368431011403461

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Authors
Torche, F., & Valenzuela, E.
Affiliations
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL)
Corresponding author
Torche, Florencia
Venue
European Journal of Social Theory
Published
2011-05
Volume
14
Issue
2
Pages
181-198
ISSN
  • 1368-4310 (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-7137
OpenAlex
W2158045472
Cited by
145
References
73
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 2
FWCI
24.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
European Journal of Social Theory (publishedVersion)
Funders
Ford Foundation
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Capital and Networks
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Cultural Dynamics
Keywords
social capital, trust, reciprocity, interpersonal relationships, anonymity, particularism, universalism, linkage mechanism, memory

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