A Study On The Social Capital In The Process Of Individual Businessmen In Shanghai

There’s a foreign self-employed group in large floating population in China that has own better economic foundation, working environment and living conditions than foreign labor group. However, foreign self-employed group is in a weak position because their economic conditions are not eligible to change registered residence, according to household registration system. What makes them in a dilemma in migration process. My thesis focuses on foreign self-employed’s business activities and its operation of social capital, which takes foreign self-employed group as research object.The study referenced from definition and classification of entrepreneur social capital, takes Shanghai XG photographic equipment city as the research site and takes foreign self-employed group as research object. The author interviewed and observed object through interview and participant observation. Looking for what kind of social capital type foreign self-employed group owes and how to apply to its activities through the real life.The author found that foreign self-employed group owns structural, normative, relational and organized social capital. Structural social capital showed that home network provided financial support and reduce the hiring cost, while friends and relatives network provided supply channels and market information. Normative social capital showed that foreign self-employed group maintains relationships with consumers though goods return and new media to consolidate the customers, keep good relationship with the management though gifts and recreational activities to obtain scarce resources and extra help. Relational social capital showed that research object reduce operating risk and offer trade convenience though acquaintances relationship, however relational social capital also cause more human cost and acquaintances relations anomie. Organized social capital means the relation between foreign self-employed group and social groups that make them obtain substantial help in business activities.