Kylie King, SUNY Plattsburgh – The Role of Informal Networks in Business Ownership

The Academic Minute

How do we solve the patriarch problem when it comes to networking for business owners?

Kylie King, director of institutional effectiveness and research faculty at SUNY Plattsburgh, says we must support those who might be blocked from having the social capital needed to move forward.

Dr. Kylie King is the Director of Institutional Effectiveness at SUNY Plattsburgh. Dr. King conducts research in the areas of social network analysis and individual, team, and organizational measurement. Dr. King has also served as a faculty member teaching in the areas of analytics and entrepreneurship. She serves as a faculty affiliate with the University of Maryland Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets and the Wake Forest University Center for the Study of Capitalism.

The Role of Informal Networks in Business Ownership

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Informal, or “social” networks, describe the relationships between individuals or other entities. Our research explores the role of informal networks in facilitating the development of aspirations and the fulfillment of goals among entrepreneurs and business owners.

Both human and social factors, for example demographics and social connectedness, influence network structures and outcomes. Human capital and social capital are mutually reinforcing. For example, if an individual has high levels of human capital, perhaps indicated by a degree from a prestigious university, they may leverage that capital to enhance the esteem they enjoy within their organization, which is a form of social capital. Organizational esteem, in turn, could influence this person’s ability to be selected for future development opportunities, further increasing their human capital.

Current findings of our work support the existence of what has been described as the “patriarch problem”; in social networks, the number of strong ties held by an individual is positively related to that individual’s representativeness within their network and strong ties are of greatest value to individuals who are not in positions of power; individuals who could benefit most from strong ties, typically, in networks of business owners, women and people of color, are the least likely to have them.

To work toward solving the patriarch problem, we propose not only supporting underrepresented business owners with knowledge, funding, and other resources; but supporting the development of knowledge among business funders, or other agencies, to promote more equitable access to capital and other support.

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Kylie’s Substack

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