Mediatizing the network model of cultural capital: Network diversity, media use, and cultural knowledge along and across ethnic boundaries

•A mediated network model of cultural capital is proposed.•Media use was a stronger predictor of cultural knowledge than network diversity.•It moderated and mediated the relation of network diversity and cultural knowledge.

Existing studies have paid limited attention to how media use and network diversity are related to cultural capital along or across ethnic boundaries. Extending the network model to a mediated network model of cultural capital, this research examines cultural knowledge as a function of media use and network diversity and whether media use moderates or mediates the relationship between network diversity and cultural knowledge. Data were drawn from a random sample survey on Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Toronto. Results showed that media use was a stronger predictor of cultural knowledge than network diversity. It also moderated and mediated the relationship between network diversity and cultural knowledge along and across ethnic boundaries.