The role of social capital and trust in contracting
Abstract
The aim of the study is to analyse how the social capital in Poland affects contracting. It’s role is significant
as the contracts concluded on the market are incomplete, i.e. they do not regulate all the issues explicitly. The
effects of contractual incompleteness can be mitigated by the high level of trust and well-developed social
capital. However, the research results show that the level of trust in Poland has been low for years and that
social capital remains underdeveloped. It prevents the social capital to fulfil its role as a factor supporting the
conclusion of contracts properly. This results in a real loss for enterprises, as part of the transactions is not
conducted.