Putnam(1993, 1995)則指出社會資本具有社會組織的特徵，包括網絡、規範和信任，可以促進彼此間相互利益的協調和合作。
Putnam, R. D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Putnam, R. D. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital, Journal of Democracy, 6, 65-78.
