The Socioeconomic Foundations of the Digitalization: Rethinking the Social Capital
Author(s)
Lorizio Marilene , Antonia Rosa Gurrieri ,
Download Full PDF Pages: 01-13 | Views: 10 | Downloads: 3 | DOI:
Volume 15 - September 2026 (09)
Abstract
Digital technologies are increasingly regarded as strategic drivers of economic growth and as essential tools for addressing the social and environmental challenges that will increasingly shape our societies. A growing share of social, political, economic, and personal life now takes place in the digital sphere, encompassing a wide range of activities—from browsing the Internet and communicating with family and friends to engaging in new forms of work. Digitalization represents what can be described as a long-lasting technological shock: a profound structural transformation that is reshaping the economy and society. Together with globalization and demographic trends, it exerts a strong influence on production processes and the economic and social relations associated with them. Digital innovation is likely to transform profoundly activities across the social and political spheres, as well as those related to technology, industry, commerce, and other economic transactions. Digitalization processes are, in fact, permeating and cutting across key domains such as national security, economic competitiveness, and social cohesion, shaping fundamental aspects of democratic systems, including stability, equity, and trust. Most advanced economies recognize the profoundly transformative nature of digital technologies and have adopted different approaches reflecting their respective political, economic, cultural, and social orientations. There is also widespread awareness that, alongside significant benefits, digital technologies may entail a range of negative effects that must be contained, from the erosion of democratic values to violations of fundamental rights, security, and privacy, as well as risks of discrimination and the weakening of social bonds.
It is important to examine the effects of digitalization not only from an economic perspective but also—and perhaps above all—from a social one. Indeed, one of the key pillars underpinning the diffusion of digital innovations is their social “acceptance” and the trust that society places in them, not merely at the individual level but, crucially, at the collective level. The digital network rests upon—and mirrors—the network of mutual trust that characterizes communities and forms the basis of what is commonly referred to as social capital. The presence of social capital, its persistence, stability, and ability to adapt to digital contexts, thereby fostering both interpersonal trust and trust in digital innovations, constitute strategic prerequisites for the rapid and equitable diffusion of digitalization.
In this work, after recalling the main features of digitalization (Section 2), we examine its effects not only in economic terms but also—and perhaps above all—in social terms (Section 2.1). This allows us to explore how the concept of social capital is being reconfigured within a digital economy and to identify its functions and potential (Section 3), as well as its limitations (Section 3.1). On this basis, we outline several policy implications (Section 4) and present the final conclusions (Section 5).
Keywords
Socioeconomic, Digitalization, Social Capital
References
1. Adler, P. S. - Kwon. S.W., (2002), Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept, The Academy of Management Review ,vol. 27, n. 1 , pp. 17-40, ttps://doi.org/10.2307/4134367;
2. Algan, Y., & Cahuc, P. (2010), Inherited trust and growth. American Economic Review, 100(5), 2060–2092;
3. Arrow, K. J. (1972), Gifts and Exchanges, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 343-362;
4. Bayer, P. - Ross, S. L. - Topa, G. (2008). Place of work and place of residence: Informal hiring networks and labor market outcomes, Journal of Political Economy, 116(6), 1150–1196;
5. Bloom, N. - Sadun, R. - Van Reenen, J. (2012), The Organization of Firms Across Countries, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(4), pp. 1643–1705;
6. Bourdieu, P. - Wacquan, J. D (1992), An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, University Chicago Press., pp.336;
7. Burt, R. S. (2000). The Network Structure of Social Capital, Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 22, pp. 345–423;
8. Cingano F. - Pinotti, P. (2016), Trust, firm organization, and the pattern of comparative advantage, Journal of International Economics, vol. 100, pp. 1-13;
9. Coleman, J. S. (1990) Foundations of Social Theory, Harvard University Press;
10. Durlauf, S. - Fafchamps, M. (2005) Social Capital in Aghion, P. - Durlauf, S.,(Eds.), Hand-Book of Economic Growth, Vol. 1, Ch. 26, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1639-1699;
11. Floridi, L. (2022), Etica dell’intelligenza artificiale, Scienza e Idee 340, Raffaello Cortina editore, pp. 384, ISBN, 9788832854091;
12. Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust. The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, New York: Free Press;
13. Glaeser, E. L. - Laibson, D. - Sacerdote, B. (2002). An Economic Approach to Social Capital. The Economic Journal, 112(483), 437–458;
14. Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 481-510;
15. Guiso, L. - Sapienza, P. - Zingales, L. (2004), The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development, American Economic Review, pp. 526–556;
16. Guiso, L. - Sapienza, P. - Zingales, L. (2008), Social Capital as Good Culture, Journal of the European Economic Association, vol. 6(2-3), pp. 295–320;
17. Guiso, L. - Sapienza, P. - Zingales, L. (2011), Civic Capital as the Missing Link, National Bureau of Economic Research, pp. 417-480;
18. Guiso, L., Sapienza, P., & Zingales, L. (2004). The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development. American Economic Review, 94(3), 526–556;
19. Helliwell, J. F. - Putnam, R. D. (2004), The Social Context of Well-Being, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, volume 359, n. 1449, pp.1435–1446;
20. Knack, S. & Keefer, P. (1997). Why don’t poor countries catch up? A cross‐national test of an institutional explanation, Economic inquiry, 35(3), 590-602;
21. Lin, N. (2001). Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press;
22. McMillan, J. - Woodruff, C. (1995), Interfirm Relationships and Informal Credit in Vietnam, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 114, n. 4, pp. 1285–1320;
23. McPherson, M. - Smith-Lovin, L. - Brashears, M. E. (2006), Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion Networks Over Two Decades, American Sociological Review, volume 71, n. 3, pp. 353–375;
24. Michelacci, C., - Silva, O. (2007). Why So Many Local Entrepreneurs?, The Review of Economics and Statistics, 89(4), 615–633;
25. Milkau, U. - Bott, J. (2015), Digitalisation in payments: From interoperability to centralised models? Journal of Payments Strategy and Systems, 9(3), pp. 321-340;
26. Mokyr , J. (2009), The Enlightened Economy. An Economic History of Britain 1700-1850, Yale University Press;
27. Mouw, T. (2003), Social Capital and Finding a Job: Do Contacts Matter?, American Sociological Review, Vol. 68, No. 6, pp. 868–898;
28. Putnam R. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65-78;
29. Putnam, C. - Kolko, B. (2009), Getting online but still living offline: the complex relationship of technology adoption and in-person social networks, International Conference on Advances in Social Network Analysis and Mining (ASONAM '09), IEEE, pp. 33-40;
30. Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York: Touchstone Books;
31. Resnick, P. (2001). Beyond bowling together: Sociotechnical capital. HCI in the New Millennium, 77, 247-272;
32. Sanders, J. M. - Nee, V. (1996). Immigrant self-employment: The family as social capital and the value of human capital, American Sociological Review, 61(2), pp. 231–249;
33. Sobel, J. (2002) Can We Trust Social Capital?, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 40, n. 1, pp. 139-154;
34. Tabellini, G. (2010). Culture and Institutions: Economic Development in the Regions of Europe. Journal of the European Economic Association, 8(4), pp. 677–716;
35. Uphoff, N. (1999). Understanding Social Capital: Learning from the Analysis and Experience of Participation, in Dasgupta, P. - Serageldin, I. (1999). Social Capital. A Multifaceted Perspective, The World Bank, Washington D.C.;
36. Valenzuela, S. - Park, N. - Kee, K. F. (2009), Is there social capital in a social network site?: Facebook use and college students' life satisfaction, trust, and participation, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), pp. 875–901;
37. Williams, D. (2006), On and off the ’Net: Scales for Social Capital in an Online Era, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Volume 11, Issue 2,1 pp. 593–628, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00029.x.
Cite this Article: