Social networks connections by entrepreneurs in the formation of social capital: a case study of a tourism enterprise in Paraná state countryside

Abstract

In new businesses creation entrepreneurs tend to mobilize its social networks to get information to access resources and to transform business vision and plans into reality (BIRLEY, 1985). If the social networks of the entrepreneurs, constructed by formal and informal contacts, contributes to reach entrepreneurs objectives, these networks are their social capital (BURT, 1992; PUTNAM, 1995). This study has as objective to understand how social networks are used by the entrepreneurs in the formation of their social capital, in the creation and development stages. A qualitative case study was carried out in a tourism business located in the pioneer north part of Paraná. Evidences were collected through semi-structured interviews with the entrepreneurs and in additional simple observation and document analysis. The results of the work suggest that in the two phases of the business, creation and development, entrepreneurs social networks granted access to different resources that contributed to the formation of their social capital.