Research in this field has helped scholars answer important questions, such as how virtuality shapes performance outcomes (Johnson, Bettenhausen, & Gibbons, 2009); how virtuality combines with other practices (e.g., Bélanger & Watson-Manheim, 2006; Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000); and how virtual settings differ from face-to-face settings (e.g., Walther & Bazarova, 2007). However, how virtuality shapes social capital remains an important open question.

Social capital can be understood as the resources embedded in social relationships that individuals can access and mobilize to achieve their goals (Lin, 2001). As employees increasingly interact through virtual technologies, important questions therefore arise: How does virtuality affect employees’ ability to develop and maintain social capital? or how do employees mobilize their social capital when interactions increasingly take place through virtual technologies?

This PhD project is part of a larger research program focused on better understanding the role and effects of virtual tools on social capital. This research project combines qualitative (e.g., interviews and cases) and quantitative (e.g., surveys) methodologies.

Research in this field has helped scholars answer important questions, such as how virtuality shapes performance outcomes (Johnson, Bettenhausen, & Gibbons, 2009); how virtuality combines with other practices (e.g., Bélanger & Watson-Manheim, 2006; Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000); and how virtual settings differ from face-to-face settings (e.g., Walther & Bazarova, 2007). However, how virtuality shapes social capital remains an important open question.

Social capital can be understood as the resources embedded in social relationships that individuals can access and mobilize to achieve their goals (Lin, 2001). As employees increasingly interact through virtual technologies, important questions therefore arise: How does virtuality affect employees’ ability to develop and maintain social capital? or how do employees mobilize their social capital when interactions increasingly take place through virtual technologies?

This PhD project is part of a larger research program focused on better understanding the role and effects of virtual tools on social capital. This research project combines qualitative (e.g., interviews and cases) and quantitative (e.g., surveys) methodologies.