The time relevance of social capital

This article examines how the time relevance of social capital from social networks affects upward mobility. An analysis of survey data from 229 employees in a high-technology workplace shows that the effects of position-related networks (measured by network size and density) on promotion are affected by the temporal distribution of ties (measured by whether a tie was formed before or after an employee's positional change), while the effects of person-related networks are insensitive to temporal effects. The results support a necessary emphasis on the time-contingent value of social capital. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of the findings for organization theories and network theories.