Subcultures, Networks and Trust

Abstract

Most students of culture agree that national cultures are hardly monolithic — that is, all cultures have cross-currents to their mainstreams (Groeschl and Doherty, 2000). The concept of subcultures has therefore been introduced to capture this multiplicity within a given social context. The existence of multiple cultures suggests that social behaviours are conducted within a network of relationships of trustworthy actors (Holmquist and Boter, 2004). Thus, in addition to subcultures, the concepts of social networks and trust have become prominent in all contemporary discourses of culture. This chapter discusses these concepts and links them to the management of economic activities in market economies. It builds on the discussions of cultural change process in Chapter 6 and argues that the speed and characteristics of cultural change will depend on the presence of “leading subcultures” within the focal society — that is, those groups of people who are willing to challenge the existing ways of doing things in society and are prepared to spearhead the change process.