“Building Social Capital” is the namn of the PhD thesis that Christina Colclough, NFU General Secretary, successfully defended in Copenhagen last Friday.

Christina’s thesis examines the HR policies and practices of a Danish multinational company’s operations in Denmark, Poland and Russia. It shows through interviewing both management and employees and by distinguishing between formal policies and informal practices, that the corporation – unintentionally – is building social capital.

High levels of social capital are essential for a corporation’s innovation and learning abilities. The PhD investigates the link between the Danish Model, the management style and social capital, and concludes that Danish corporations are in a good position to secure continuous learning – if they hold on to the foundational characteristics of the Danish Model: namely, trust, cooperation and consensus.