Modeling of natural and social capital on farms: Toward useable integration

Nurturing natural capital

Dear Editor-in-Chief Social capital includes volume and quality of relations between human beings, which can facilitate cooperation between them. Based on numerous studies about development in the different world countries from 1988, it has been specified that social capital has an important role on development and progress of societies (1). For better understanding of social capital and its effects on society health, we start our discussion with a question: Why two societies that each of them have same demographic and economic situation, one of them has healthier population than other? Studies in different countries with same financial capital show that a progressive health care system can decrease all causes of death, improve health situation and save the costs (2–4). By coordinating and integrating different sections of health system (inter and between-sectoral), efforts for society health improvement bring better and more results and in this way a comprehensive model create for health care. Synergistic effect of cooperation between different parts can develop social capital and decrease inequity. Otherwise, for example, lack of health facilities in small cities and rural areas can increase immigration and marginalization in the big cities and endanger society health (2). Because of great gap in the health, education, workforce and people participation, inequity has expanded in the world (5). Two main measures to confront inequity are improving access to health care services in the poor regions and development of social solidarity. The results of different studies show that whatsoever the gap between poor and rich increases, citizens’ health worsen (6). This gap is because of individuals’ unequal access to skills not their income (7). Administration of health programs in the schools, offices, public places and so on can decrease the gap in the access to health services between poor and rich. Through development in the social and human capital, managers can deal with health challenges properly (8). Different definitions have been published for welfare but the important issue is that welfare is not only having economic capital but includes 3 other forms of capital: Social capital, natural capital and human capital. To build a healthy society, it is necessary to consider all capital levels namely social, natural, human and economic capital. - Social capital is like glue that consolidate the societies formal and informal. Citizens have equitable access to infrastructure resources for a better health. - Natural capital means having a high quality nature, healthy ecosystem, resources compatible with nature, nature protection and biodiversity. - Human capital means the people who are healthy, literate, skilled, innovative and creative. - Economic capital means access to appropriate level of welfare and prosperity (9). It is estimated that 20% of the world wealth is in the natural capital, 20% in the economic capital and remaining 60% is in the combination of social and human capital.

Introduction: CSC: The Structure of Advantage and Disadvantage S.M. Gabbay, R.Th.A.J. Leenders. Section I: Conceptual Issues - Theory, Models, and Measurement. 1. Organizational Networks and Corporate Social Capital D. Knoke. 2. Social Capital of Organization: Conceptualization, Level of Analysis, and Performance Implications J.M. Pennings, K. Lee. 3. A Relational Resource Perspective on Social Capital L. Araujo, G. Easton. 4. Social Capital by Design: Structures, Strategies, and Institutional Context W.E. Baker, D. Obstfeld. 5. Corporate Social Capital and Liability: a Conditional Approach to Three Consequences of Corporate Social Structure I. Talmud. 6. Dimensions of Corporate Social Capital: Toward Models and Measures S.-K. Han, R.L. Breiger. 7. Organizational Standing as Corporate Social Capital P. Doreian. 8. Customer Service Dyads: Diagnosing Emperical Buyer - Seller Interactions along Gaming Profiles in a Dyadic Parametric Space D. Iacobucci. Section II: Structure at the Individual Level - Social Capital in Jobs and Careers. 9. The Sidekick Effect: Mentoring Relationships and the Development of Social Capital M. Higgins, N. Nohria. 10. Social Capital in Internal Staffing Practices P.V. Marsden, E.H. Gorman. 11. Getting a Job as a Manager H. Flap, E. Boxman. 12. The Changing Value of Social Capital in an Expanding Social System: Lawyers in the Chicago Bar, 1975 and 1995 R.L. Sandefur, et al. Section III: Structure at the Individual Level -- Social Capital and Management. 13. Generalized Exchange and Economic Performance: Social Embeddedness of Labor Contracts in a Corporate Law Partnership E. Lazega. 14. CEO Demographics and Acquisitions: Network Effects of Educational and Functional Background P.R. Haunschild, et al. 15. Public Service Organizations -- Social Networks and Social Capital E. Ferlie. 16. The Dark Side of Social Capital M. Gargiulo, M. Benassi. 17. Social Capital, Social Liabilities, and Social Resources Management D.J. Brass, G. Labianca. Section IV: Structure at the Firm Level -- Social Capital in Collaboration and Alliances. 18. The Triangle: Roles of the Go-Between B. Nooteboom. 19. The Management of Social Capital in R&D Collaboration O. Omta, W. van Rossum. 20. Technological Prestige and the Accumulation of Alliance Capital T.E. Stuart. 21. Networks and Knowledge Production: Collaboration and Patenting in Biotechnology L. Smith-Doerr, et al. 22. Supply Network Strategy and Social Capital C. Harland. Section V: Structure at the Firm Level -- Social Capital and Financial Capital. 23. Choosing Ties from the Inside of a Prism: Egocentric Uncertainty and Status in Venture Capital Markets J.M. Podolny, F. Castellucci. 24. Corporate Social Capital and the Cost of Financial Capital: An Embeddedness Approach B. Uzzi, J.J. Gillespie. 25. Venture Capital as an Economy of Time J. Freeman. Conclusion. References. Index. Contributors. Editors.

The objective of this research is to present a model that describes the general effect of social capital and absorptive capacity on knowledge management and its implications on company performance.The model proposed in this research is tested by structural equation model. This research processed data from 258 respondents of employees of finance companies in Indonesia that meet certain requirements of 27 samples of the company.This research found that social capital has a positive and significant effect on absorptive capacity and knowledge management. Absorptive capacity has a positive and significant impact on knowledge management and company performance. Knowledge management also has a positive and significant effect on company performance. Social capital and absorptive capacity together have a positive and significant influence on knowledge management. Furthermore social capital, absorptive capacity and knowledge management together have a positive and significant impact on company performance. Absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between social capital and knowledge management. Knowledge management fully mediates the relationship between social capital and absorptive capacity on company performance. Social capital indirectly affects the company performance through knowledge management or absorptive capacity.This research model only limits the factors that affect company performance to three main variables namely social capital, absorptive capacity and knowledge management. Future research is suggested to try with additional other variables such as monetary incentives and/or corporate culture.The practical implication of this research is to improve knowledge management, it is necessary to improve social capital and absorptive capacity together. Furthermore company performance can be improved if social capital, absorptive capacity and knowledge management also improved simultaneously.The model proposed in this research improves the understanding of academics and practitioners about the construct of knowledge management. The mediation function of knowledge management is something new from this research compared to previous researches. This research also provides an additional contradictory list of previous researches on the relationship between social capital and company performance.

The paper is in several parts. We explain the context of the study area that is characterized by land acquisition and transfer (LAT) by local government (often against the wishes of the local villagers). We report on a methodology that is simple, yet robust, that enables local land users and other interested parties to quantify the social capital of local people in rural and peri-urban areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) and assess the extent to which social capital influences the bargaining power of land users when faced with acquisition of their cropland, grazing land, woodlands, water and other environmental goods and services. Finally, we explore the notion that social capital can be a force to create a more even playing field and influence the outcomes of land grab for industrial, infrastructure and urban development.
 Interest in the concept of social capital and its application has increased rapidly over the past few years with the realization that social bonds and norms are important for achieving sustainability. Ferdinand Tönnies identified the value of the ideas surrounding social capital as early as 1887, but later scholars gave it a theoretical framework. Social capital implies that there are aspects of social structure and organization that act as resources for individuals, allowing them to realize their personal aims and interests. Often, social capital is defined as trust, norms of reciprocity, and networks among individuals that can be drawn upon for individual or collective benefit. Social capital is different between urbanites and rural dwellers, especially farmers.
 In this paper, we focus on how social capital serves the interests of individuals or collectives. Social capital based on kinship and geopolitical position plays an important role in affecting rural land transfer. Rural land transfer (also called LAT) is becoming a highly contested matter as China moves to implement its plan to increase the proportion of urban dwellers to 70% by 2030(Ma et al., 2018). Natural capital (a sub-set of social capital) should always be maintained as it is critical to sustainable economic development representing, as it does, a multidimensional concept that mirrors the different frameworks of various scientific disciplines and social groups used in valuing nature. Widespread and rampant LAT that accompanies accelerated economic development in peri-urban and rural areas (Ma et al., 2018) needs to take critical natural capital into account.

The paper is in several parts. We explain the context of the study area that is characterized by land acquisition and transfer (LAT) by local government (often against the wishes of the local villagers). We report on a methodology that is simple, yet robust, that enables local land users and other interested parties to quantify the social capital of local people in rural and peri-urban areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) and assess the extent to which social capital influences the bargaining power of land users when faced with acquisition of their cropland, grazing land, woodlands, water and other environmental goods and services. Finally, we explore the notion that social capital can be a force to create a more even playing field and influence the outcomes of land grab for industrial, infrastructure and urban development.
 Interest in the concept of social capital and its application has increased rapidly over the past few years with the realization that social bonds and norms are important for achieving sustainability. Ferdinand Tönnies identified the value of the ideas surrounding social capital as early as 1887, but later scholars gave it a theoretical framework. Social capital implies that there are aspects of social structure and organization that act as resources for individuals, allowing them to realize their personal aims and interests. Often, social capital is defined as trust, norms of reciprocity, and networks among individuals that can be drawn upon for individual or collective benefit. Social capital is different between urbanites and rural dwellers, especially farmers.
 In this paper, we focus on how social capital serves the interests of individuals or collectives. Social capital based on kinship and geopolitical position plays an important role in affecting rural land transfer. Rural land transfer (also called LAT) is becoming a highly contested matter as China moves to implement its plan to increase the proportion of urban dwellers to 70% by 2030(Ma et al., 2018). Natural capital (a sub-set of social capital) should always be maintained as it is critical to sustainable economic development representing, as it does, a multidimensional concept that mirrors the different frameworks of various scientific disciplines and social groups used in valuing nature. Widespread and rampant LAT that accompanies accelerated economic development in peri-urban and rural areas (Ma et al., 2018) needs to take critical natural capital into account.

In this article we show that associational relationships and social norms of villages in rural Tanzania are both capital and social. After outlining the various concepts of social capital we tell how and why we created data on social capital using a large-scale household survey in rural Tanzania that was designed to query households about their social connections and attitudes. By using the Social Capital and Poverty Survey (SCPS) and data from a different survey, which also had information on incomes, we show that a village’s social capital has an effect on the incomes of the households in that village, an effect that is empirically large, definitely social, and plausibly causal. Finally, we use the two data sets to examine a number of proximate channels through which social capital appears to operate.

Given the projected climatic changes, building resilient agricultural systems is of vital significance in protecting vulnerable agrarian communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Under this scenario, the article attempts to identify a set of resilience-building adaptive strategies (intensification, diversification, alteration, migration, etc.) among farmers in Morogoro, Tanzania, and crafts a composite index of these strategies using a principal component analysis-based weighting scheme. The analysis also reveals the latent structure and internal correlations of actions intended to build resilience of the farming systems. Subsequently, the linkages of livelihood resources (natural, human, social and financial capitals) to the resilience-building strategies are examined. A multiple regression analysis is employed to link the composite index to variables representing the four capitals. The results bring quantitative evidence to the linkages and highlight the need of enhancing livelihood resources to enhance the ability to undertake adaptive strategies that denotes the ability to withstand stresses and shocks from climatic changes. Actions to improve human capital (awareness campaigns on climate change impacts as well as possible adaptive strategies), social capital (strengthening social networks, improving tenure security), financial capital (increasing credit availability) and natural capital (measures to enhance agricultural potential, support for adaptive action in areas with low agricultural potential) are needed in order to impart resilience to the farming systems against the changing climate.

Background: Eating behaviors are complex and have particular significance for military personnel who require sound nutrition to support health and physical fitness for job performance. Policies and guidelines for the provision of nutritionally appropriate food/drink on base and in the field do exist; however, many military personnel have poor dietary habits, and these habits are evident early in their career. Social marketing could assist in changing unhealthy eating behaviors of personnel through implementation of feasible interventions co-created with stakeholders that are valued by Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel. : The article reports the first phase of a systemic co-inquiry into unhealthy eating behaviors of military personnel. This study aimed to gain an initial framing of the problem situation and thus hypothesize a “system of interest” in which to conduct future work. Research questions What components (e.g., ideas, objects, attributes, activities) are perceived to be relevant for eating behaviors in military personnel? Do interrelationships and interconnections among components suggest how unhealthy eating behaviors may emerge? Are there places that suggest viable leverage points as opportunities for changing unhealthy eating behaviors through delivery of offerings that ADF personnel value? Program Design/Approach: This study was part of a systemic inquiry approach. Methods: Data for the study included document analysis and 14 semi-structured depth interviews with ADF stakeholders. Data were thematically analyzed to construct a system of interest in which to explore how eating behaviors emerge among personnel and ADF-controlled leverage points that can be used to increase healthy eating for ADF personnel through social marketing intervention. Results: The data analysis identified alternative systems of interest in which to explore how eating behaviors emerge among personnel. Demand and supply side leverage points were identified. On the supply side, the encouragement of patronage through menu innovation, investment in facilities, cooking skills training, and auditing provision were opportunities for social marketing intervention. On the demand side, education and training coupled with communications that challenge cultural and regulatory norms and link to military values were areas that programs seeking to increase healthy eating in ADF personnel could focus on. Importance to the Social Marketing Field: As an approach for addressing “wicked” problems, the application of systems thinking in social marketing has privileged an ontological concept of system as a metaphor for reality. This approach assists in expanding the focus of change beyond the individual to include factors in social, economic, and policy environments. By using systems thinking as an epistemological device, this article offers an approach that may be applied to overcome practical and philosophical limitations in the application of systems thinking. Recommendations for Research or Practice: Research on alternative methods for applying systems thinking is recommended to strengthen the potential of system approaches in the field of social marketing. Limitations: This study is part of a broader program, and its findings on the problem of unhealthy eating behaviors in ADF are preliminary. Limitations specific to the study include the possibility of “reductionism” in stakeholder identification and self-selection bias in participation.

In the Pacific region, youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are strongly influenced by sociocultural and structural factors, which limit access to SRHR information and services for youth. As climate-related disasters intensify in the Pacific, existing challenges to youth SRHR may increase the risk of worse SRHR experiences and outcomes for youth before, during and after disasters. Community-based models of SRHR service provision models increase accessibility for youth in non-disaster times, but there is limited evidence of how community organisations address youth SRHR in disaster contexts. We conducted qualitative interviews with 16 participants from community organisations and networks in Fiji, Vanuatu, and Tonga following the 2020 Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold. Guided by the Recovery Capitals Framework (natural, built, political, cultural, human, social, and financial capitals), we explored how community organisations addressed challenges to facilitate access to youth SRHR information and services. Social capital in the form of peer networks and virtual safe spaces was used to navigate challenges in political, financial, and natural capitals. Existing relationships and trusted collaborations were crucial to address cultural taboos related to youth SRHR. Previous experiences of disasters and knowledge of contexts enabled participants to provide sustainable solutions to identified SRHR needs. The work conducted by community organisations and networks pre-disaster made it easier to identify and address youth SRHR risks following disasters. Our research offers a unique perspective into how social capitals were used to mitigate challenges to youth SRHR across natural, human, financial, cultural, built, and political capitals. Findings offer important opportunities to invest in existing community strengths, for transformative action to advance the SRHR of Pacific youth.

In the Pacific region, youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are strongly influenced by sociocultural and structural factors, which limit access to SRHR information and services for youth. As climate-related disasters intensify in the Pacific, existing challenges to youth SRHR may increase the risk of worse SRHR experiences and outcomes for youth before, during and after disasters. Community-based models of SRHR service provision models increase accessibility for youth in non-disaster times, but there is limited evidence of how community organisations address youth SRHR in disaster contexts. We conducted qualitative interviews with 16 participants from community organisations and networks in Fiji, Vanuatu, and Tonga following the 2020 Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold. Guided by the Recovery Capitals Framework (natural, built, political, cultural, human, social, and financial capitals), we explored how community organisations addressed challenges to facilitate access to youth SRHR information and services. Social capital in the form of peer networks and virtual safe spaces was used to navigate challenges in political, financial, and natural capitals. Existing relationships and trusted collaborations were crucial to address cultural taboos related to youth SRHR. Previous experiences of disasters and knowledge of contexts enabled participants to provide sustainable solutions to identified SRHR needs. The work conducted by community organisations and networks pre-disaster made it easier to identify and address youth SRHR risks following disasters. Our research offers a unique perspective into how social capitals were used to mitigate challenges to youth SRHR across natural, human, financial, cultural, built, and political capitals. Findings offer important opportunities to invest in existing community strengths, for transformative action to advance the SRHR of Pacific youth.

This study analyzes the influence of livelihood assets on Ugandan farmers’ decisions to control Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW), a disease that has threatened banana production and the livelihoods of Ugandan farmers since 2001. The BXW control strategy is based on the simultaneous implementation of four cultural practices: de-budding, infected plant removal, disinfecting tools, and using clean planting materials. The Sustainable Rural Livelihood (SRL) framework represents a very useful theoretical architecture for examining the interplay between livelihood systems of rural Ugandan households and the external context. Empirically, this study applies a double-hurdle model with the base assumption that the two adoption decision processes (whether to adopt and the intensity of adoption of the cultural practices) are separate. Results indicate that the vulnerability context and the human, social, natural, and physical capitals are the factors that drive farmers to adopt the identified strategy. Farmers’ decisions about the extent of adoption are instead negatively influenced by natural capital and positively associated with social capital. These findings highlight the importance of supporting the improvement of livelihood assets to enable tailored support to farmers. It is particularly important to support the social and natural capitals that facilitate information exchange and provide critical resources for the adoption of the BXW control strategy.

Composite effects of human, natural and social capitals on sustainable food-crop farming in Sub-Saharan Africa

Social capital and earnings management in small and medium firms

Objective: This study investigates the effect of intellectual, social, and natural capital on governance performance in middle income countries, addressing how non-financial resources shape institutional quality. The research is empirical and contributes to development economics by linking capital endowments with governance outcomes, which are central to sustainable development and institutional resilience. Methods: The study uses panel data from the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI) for 20 middle income countries during 2020–2024. Governance scores serve as the dependent variable, while intellectual, social, and natural capital are the main explanatory variables, analyzed through a fixed effects regression with robust standard errors. Findings: The results indicate that natural capital has a statistically significant and positive impact on governance performance, with a coefficient value of approximately 0.51, significant at the five percent level. This suggests that countries with stronger capacities to manage environmental resources tend to develop more accountable and resilient institutions. In contrast, intellectual and social capital do not show significant effects within the observed period, which may imply that their influence on governance is more indirect, requires longer time horizons to materialize, or depends on the presence of supportive institutional frameworks. Originality/Value: The novelty of this study lies in testing the reverse relationship between non-financial capital and governance and incorporating interaction models that reveal how these resources jointly shape institutional outcomes. Unlike most prior studies that focus on how governance drives capital formation, this research centers on middle-income countries and employs recent data from 2020–2024 to offer fresh empirical evidence on institutional determinants of governance. Practical/Policy implication: The findings suggest that governance reforms should integrate natural capital management within Sustainable Development Goal frameworks while enhancing institutional capacity in education and social cohesion to enable intellectual and social capital to more effectively strengthen governance in the long term.