Radical Networks, A case study on the value of social network and social capital in an international event firm

Abstract

The social dimension is the essence of the event industry, not only for the participants but also as a managerial aspect. The value of social networks and social capital has shown to be a key resource for large parts of the internationalizing event firms’ operations on all levels, ranging from top management to local executors. Previous research has identified a gap in the event management literature regarding the managerial use of social capital and networks, and the literature on international event management is weak when it comes to smaller events. To address this current gap in the literature this study aims at making a theoretical contribution through an exploratory study on how an event firm utilizes social connections and networks as well as the social capital embedded within these. This research is conducted through a case study of a young internationalizing firm in the young “fun-run” industry, which has stretched out across the globe during the past two years. The result of our research has been an initial indication of how, and what types of, social networks and social capital are valuable at different levels within the international event industry. A general conclusion made in the paper is that social networks and social capital is highly important at all levels within the internationalizing event firm, however in what way differs between the levels. One of the major differences between the use of networks, found in this case study, is that stronger ties are more important at the international event firm’s lower hierarchical levels than at the top levels where weak ties show greater importance.