Social Capital in Energy Enterprises: Poland’s Case

Abstract

Social capital is currently perceived as one of the basic factors of economic development and economic success of enterprises. However, while there is already much research on social capital in enterprises, there has been little such research in the energy industry. The aim of the publication is to fill the gap in this regard. The basic question that the authors try to answer is whether there is a higher level of capital in energy companies compared to other industries, and if so, what the reasons are for this. Apart from answering this question, the authors present their own method of measuring the level of this capital. The first part of the article presents the results of a study on the level of social capital in Polish energy companies, whereas the second part compares the levels of social capital in energy companies and industrial companies in other sectors. According to the study, energy companies generally have higher levels of social capital than companies in other industries. It has been found, however, that individual forms of capital that comprise social capital differ. The most significant differences were observed in relational capital, followed by cognitive capital at a lower value and structural capital at the lowest. The survey also revealed that there is a difference in social capital levels among the researched professional groups: management, administration, and production.

Keywords

• social capital
• energy industry
• energy companies
• energy efficiency