Social Capital and Familial Capital: The Case of the Clothing-Textile Industry of Bitonto

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the notions of ‘social capital’ and ‘familial capital’, and apply those notions to the social and economic context of the clothing-textile industry of Bitonto. The key-point here is to consider that the applicability of those general notions cannot neglect the context of the analysis – as indeed context matters –, and even those cultural areas labeled as 'backward' or 'lacking social capital' in the past may exhibit positive examples of economic development and social transformation that have occurred throughout the last few years. Hence, the notion of potential social capital is central to explaining how certain areas can exploit existing resources (physical and human), which may not be visible and accessible to everyone – such as in the case of the informal economies – and may not be fully ‘mobilizable’ by a social group. In addition, certain familial structures play a fundamental role in both facilitating social cooperation and fostering economic development. This depends upon both the degree of ‘openness’ of families towards external linkages and other agents within a community, and the nature of relationships within families themselves. The first part of the paper summarizes the findings of the research in the field on the clothing-textile sector of Bitonto, in Southern Italy, conducted through in-depth interviews to local entrepreneurs, public officials, trade unionists, consultants and other academic researchers. In the light of the findings of the field-study, the second part of the paper represents a reanalysis of the notions of ‘amoral familism’ and ‘social capital’, by including the fact that context plays a fundamental role, and that both a microand macrointerpretation of social phenomena are essential components of the analysis itself.