Acquisition and Utilization of Chinese Peasant e-Entrepreneurs’ Online Social Capital: The Moderating Effect of Offline Social Capital

Abstract

Online social capital (OSC) is of great significance to the sustainable development of peasant e-entrepreneurs in the era of social media. The objective of this research was to explore how peasant e-entrepreneurs acquire and utilize OSC through the use of social media. This study proposes an analytical framework of “social media behaviors–OSC–resource acquisition” including the moderating effect of offline social capital. An empirical test was conducted using data from 306 surveys from China and the partial least squares method (PLS). The results show that (1) self-presentation and browsing behaviors have significant positive effects on both bridging and bonding OSC; communication behaviors only have a significant positive effect on bonding OSC; and self-presentation behaviors have the greatest effect on both types of OSC. (2) Both bridging and bonding OSC have significant positive effects on resource acquisition, and bonding OSC has a greater effect. (3) Offline social capital has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between bonding OSC and resource acquisition but does not have that effect on bridging OSC. These findings contribute to the extant social capital literature and provide references for peasant e-entrepreneurs to better acquire and utilize OSC by exploring the antecedents and impacts of OSC in the context of peasant e-entrepreneur in China.