The automotive repair shop had accumulated a wealth of social capital by treating its customers fairly and not taking advantage of senior citizens.
United Cyber-Biotics Corporation survived the scandal with relative ease, due in large part to its reputation in the community and the social capital it had built up over the years.
Without social capital, the shoe company would never have been able to prosper as it did; it was only through the collective efforts of a town that a small garage-based company turned into a worldwide mega-corporation.