Social Capital as a Means for Integration: Exploring Social Capital as a Means for Integration in Entrepreneurship Incubators

Abstract

This master thesis seeks to explore the phenomena of integration and social capital in entrepreneurship incubators. We aim to answer the question, “How is social capital a means for integration and how is it used in entrepreneurship incubators?” The concept of social capital will be used to depict and comprehend the chosen case of this dissertation. The aim of the case study is to give a qualitative content to the discussion of the two chosen phenomena. We will investigate how social capital is a tool for integration and identify the types of social capital that increases the probability of enhanced integration in the context of our case. It will be with a focus on how the staff members and participants engage with various practices in the organization and its contribution to integration processes. This will be studied through ethnographic fieldwork generated from Startup Refugees in Helsinki, Finland. Our empirical data includes participants observations, semi-structured interviews and documents collected during our fieldwork. The implications of the master thesis concern the necessity for researchers to consider the importance of social capital in their pursuit to better understand integration processes and its need for a ‘whole-of-society’ approach.