Qui se ressemble s'assemble ? Homophilie sociale et effet multiplicateur : les mécanismes du capital social

Pierre Bourdieu considered that social capital was one of the main forms of capital, along with cultural and economic capital. Yet, in his entire work, Bourdieu dedicates no more than two pages to social capital, which he called "provisional observations" ("notes provisoires"). However, these two pages are essential because they suggest a research program that has never been implemented empirically. This article seeks to contribute to such a program in two ways. Firstly, it offers a theoretical and methodological discussion of the "notes provisoires" that calls for using both relational and interactionist approaches in the analysis of social capital. Secondly, it offers an empirical application of the model outlined in the "notes provisoires" and assesses the empirical relevance of two hypotheses that Bourdieu formulated about the operation of social capital : social homogamy and the multiplier effect. The data used is drawn from field research on the economic subfield represented by the restaurant industry in the city of Lille, in northern France, This professional environment is characterized by the contradiction between two irreconcilable nomos : the pursuit of economic interests and the pursuit of gastronomic awards that are hardly profitable.