Abstract:

Applying the interaction theory to the analysis of a case that involved the debit / credit of relationship capital， this paper illustrates how social capital plays its functions when activated by people’s action strategies. The paper also questions the two theoretical perspectives of functionalism and structuralism. The author contends that， only with the mobilizing capacity owned by the person him / herself， can this person utilize the relationship capital that already exists in his / her social network to construct new relational chains in order to credit the toplevel， outstanding capital and eventually bring out its values in an effective way.

Key words: relationship capital, capital debit / credit, relational chain, debt of favor, capital increment