AbstractThis study analyzes survey data from front‐line employees across three shopping malls in Myanmar to investigate the mediating role of social capital in the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and individual performance. Social capital was measured using the in‐degree centrality of two types of social networks: expressive (i.e., friendship) and instrumental (i.e., advice) networks. The findings indicate that the instrumental network partially mediates the relationship between PsyCap and individual performance, but the expressive network does not. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the utility and limitations of social exchange theory, with particular focus on the relationship between PsyCap and the expressive network.