Exploring the Role of Structural Holes in Learning : an Empirical Study of Swedish Pharmacies

• In this paper, we focus on the structural configuration of social capital, more specifically structural holes, and its inter-relationship with learning. A wide range of literature has analysed social capital and its beneficial effects, however, despite the extensive investigations of social capital, there is surprisingly enough still a lack of studies investigating the role of the structural configuration of the social capital for employees' individual learning. The objective of this paper is to address this gap in the literature, enhancing our understanding of the links between social capital and individual learning. An online questionnaire survey was administered to 252 employees affiliated with the 22 pharmacies. The analysis was made through ordinal logistic regression models based on maximum likelihood estimations. The results suggest that the presence of structural holes first increases the degree of individual learning, then reaches a maximum and begins to decrease gradually. The mechanism at work in the relationship between structural holes and individual learning is an interesting area for further research. Tentative explanations to this cognitive psychological effect are discussed in terms of cognitive distance as well as information overload.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

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