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The root of urban poverty and inequality often results from limited economic opportunity. Yet, often this perception of lack of opportunity is centered on the early stages of new venture formation, with only limited attention to venture growth and expansion. In this study, we explore the intersection of social venturing and community economic redevelopment to address this gap in the literature. We examine how venturing under conditions of limited economic opportunities occurs not just at the formation stages but also throughout the venturing life cycle. Specifically, we examine how ventures formed in distressed, urban neighborhoods face unique challenges when scaling up their operations. These challenges relate to securing and leveraging four types of capital: financial, physical, human, and social. We employ a case study methodology to examine these scaling challenges and the strategies the organization employed to overcome location disadvantages.

One of the several claims that Seligman makes for Rooke is that he should be accorded priority in the discovery of the correct, that is Ricardian, doctrine of rent:there seems little doubt that the doctrine of rent was developed practically simultaneously by Malthus, West, Torrens and Rooke in 1814, but so far as the priority of actual publication is concerned, the above list should be reversed. And in the interests of historical accuracy, Rooke and Torrens must hereafter be accorded the position which they deserve. (Seligman, 1903, p. 512)¹

In this paper, we discuss how “cultural capital” and “symbolic capital,” understood as specialized subsets of intangible resources and capabilities, enable firms to achieve valuable strategic positions in ways that are currently underexplored by mainstream strategy literature. We articulate the similarities and differences between cultural and symbolic capital and the intangible assets that have been the focus of mainstream strategy researchers, such as intellectual, social, and reputational capital. Our theoretical arguments build on insights from a number of studies conducted primarily in non-North American settings that have shown how symbolic properties of products create value. We conclude by delineating future avenues of research that strategy scholarship should consider in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the relationships between intangible resources and capabilities, and value creation.

This chapter deals with aspects of technical change and entrepreneurship which have dominated the economics literature. Since we shall confine our attention to the economic aspects of technical change, our approach is one-sided. This is reinforced by the fact that we discuss only a part of the very large body of literature. The tension between wants and the means to satisfy these is directly influenced by technical change, both from a qualitative and a quantitative point of view. This relationship between scarcity and technical change has been studied in detail since the 1970s, although elements have always been part of economic debate (Heertje, 1977).

The notion of social capital refers to social connections between people, such as networking, trust, norms, etc. Rich and good-condition social capital is supposed to enhance collective action in a society. This is why social capital has attracted more attention in the field of development studies and environmental management studies in recent years. However, the forms and conditions of social capital are different in each society and there is no ideal social capital. Therefore, it is important to know the advantages and disadvantages of the original social capital and how it can be supplemented. In the environmental learning project in Danang, Central Vietnam, social capital was fostered through the activities of the residents' group. New and strong networks of people have been created among broader neighborhoods. The residents' group created multidimensional networks (bridges) in the society and helped to foster social capital. Eventually, the residents' group is expected to bring success to the participatory urban environmental project by fostering social capital in the local society.

A firm's resources and capabilities can form the basis for performance differences among firms. The question is “how do firms face the challenge of acquiring resources and developing capabilities during their day-to-day activities in order to face competition?” Case study research involving day-to-day activities of a project-firm in a B2B context suggests that social capital – the sum of structural, relational and cognitive resources – built in networks increases the ability to face the challenge of resource acquisition and capability development even during daily activities. A communication network study clearly maps this influence of social capital. More precisely, dominant or powerful employees should be avoided. Next to organizational structures characterized by hierarchy, high and low communications are also not desirable. Moreover, too much trust can harm firms’ abilities to develop capabilities when performing day-to-day activities. Even a complete shared vision hinders firms’ capability development during their day-to-day activities. This study supports the negative impact of overembeddedness; shows the value of articles discussing the downside of social capital and confirms the paradox of embeddedness: overembeddedness as well as underembeddedness has negative implications for a firm's performance. Moreover, from the research results important managerial lessons can be deducted, such as (1) the basis for performance differences can be formed during day-to-day activities and (2) social capital management is a critical success factor in outperforming competitors. Therefore, managers should be aware of the potential value embedded in their day-to-day activities and relationships based on economic transactions. They can leverage their day-to-day activities and relationships based on economic transactions and consider them as sources for resources and capabilities that can be deployed in their search for a competitive position. Moreover, managers should not only pay attention to their financial and human capital but also to the social capital built in the firm's networks and in their employees’ networks. Social capital can influence – among others – divisional learning and divisional capability development.

A broad agreement exists that tourism is an effective instrument for social and economic development. However, there is no specific theoretical or practical framework of tourism for development to be found. Even the key issues have remained unformulated: concept of development, tourism's contributions to development, and tourism policy and governance for development. This chapter first summarizes the development paradigms held in the last decades (modernization, neoliberalism, dependency, and sustainability) vis-à-vis tourism, and then goes on to consider proposals emanating from New Institutional Economics and the Theory of Social Capital. It concludes with the results of a 2011 enquiry, involving some 60 international experts.