Abstract:

This paper explores private business owners’ views of upward social mobility via a case study. The private business owners being interviewed identified themselves with the lowermiddle class according to their intellectual capital； they expected， and tried hard to ensure， their offspring to enter the system through education in order to move upward. However， when their children failed in the system and then had to follow their steps without other alternative options， no upward social mobility that they had desired was achieved. This paper is focused on analyzing the impact of intellectual capital on the private business owners’ selfstatus determination and their children’s efforts for upward social mobility. It is the influence originated from the system and culture that has been recognized by the private business owners as the only path to upward social mobility.

Key words:

intellectual capital, upward social mobility, economic capital