Social Capital Dynamics Research Articles

Social capital mediates knowledge gaps in informing sexual and reproductive health behaviours across Africa

Advancing sexual and reproductive health is essential for promoting human rights and women’s empowerment, and combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A large body of literature across the social sciences emphasizes the importance of social capital, generated through the strength of social networks, for shaping health behaviours. However, large-scale measurement of social capital and social networks remains elusive, especially in the context of low-income countries. Here we delve into the role of social capital dynamics, and in particular social connectedness across communities as measured through Facebook friendship links, in shaping knowledge diffusion and behaviour related to sexual and reproductive health in 495 regions across 33 countries in Africa. Our findings demonstrate that regions with higher levels of social connectedness are more similar in their knowledge about contraception and HIV testing, as well as their adoption of these behaviours. We further observe that the influence of social connectedness becomes stronger when the knowledge gaps between regions are larger. In other words, regions are more similar in behaviours, despite knowledge gaps, when they are socially connected. These insights carry significant policy implications, especially for the design and targeting of public health campaigns. We highlight that social connectedness can serve both as a driver and an obstacle in behaviour formation, underscoring the importance of understanding its influence on health-related outcomes.

An intergenerational comeback: Girls’ education, development, and social capital

This article examines the trajectory of global human rights expansion, with a specific focus on the advancement of girls’ and women’s education. By adopting a generational lens and using a reflective standpoint, I unpack the role of gender-specific social capital in fostering agency and empowerment among girls, particularly within the Global South. Building upon Porter’s Girls’ education, development and social change: ‘Seeding, Strengthening and Linking’ (Global Fund for Women) (2016), I propose a civic pedagogical PCCS (Place-based education initiatives, Cost-efficient and ecologically sound innovations, Collective intelligence building, Shared knowledge inquiry) model as a response to humanitarian crises, ideological disparities, and armed conflicts. Additionally, I draw upon the Indian concept of jugaad to comprehend the social, spatial, and economic negotiations in the Global South, enabling strategic resourcefulness. Furthermore, I introduce a Dalitbahujan feminist lens to emphasise the significance of girls’ education in the current decade and beyond. By reexamining Porter’s narratives and considering global circumstances, I focus on the dynamics of gender-oriented social capital. This article enriches the discussion on girls’ education within the frameworks of 21st-century ideologies of neoliberalism, philanthrocapitalism, and neo-capitalism, highlighting the crucial role of collaborative efforts.

Simple relational contracts and the dynamics of social capital

This article proposes a dynamic model to examine the structure of “simple” relational contracts, obeying realistic properties that can be easily understood and audited by both parties. In such relationships, the need to offer each supplier a large enough share of future business to deter cheating limits the number of relationships a buyer can sustain. Trade is thus restricted to durable relationships, a form of social capital. Nevertheless, exogenous stochastic shocks sometimes prevent suppliers from fulfilling their promises and relationships are constantly dissolving and later renewed. Moreover, the coming of a crisis, where stochastic shocks are more probable, can lead to the quick rupture of some relationships as there is less expected future business to incentivize all suppliers. New relationships can later be formed, but this takes time due to search frictions. This suggests new connections between the theory of relational contracting and the macroeconomic analysis of recessions.

Social Capital Dynamics in Resolving Transition Conflict: Tourism to Mining in Pangkal Niur Village

This study explores the pivotal role of social capital in managing conflicts during the transition from tourism to mining in Pangkal Niur Village. Using qualitative methods within a descriptive research framework, this study interviewed diverse stakeholders, including community leaders, the village government, tourism sector representatives, and opponents of this shift. Employing purposive sampling and inductive analysis, our findings reveal the significant role of social capital in mitigating conflicts between the tourism and mining sectors, particularly in the context of modernization and globalization. This holds profound implications for Pangkal Niur’s local community. The study underscores that social relationships form the basis for trust, cooperation, and community involvement, crucial for post- mining land restoration efforts. In regions with a significant mining sector like Bangka Belitung, these findings are highly relevant, emphasizing social capital as a catalyst for conflict resolution, promoting sustainable practices, safeguarding the environment, and enhancing community well-being in environmental management and sustainable development.

ЗАСОБИ РОЗВИТКУ СИСТЕМИ СОЦІАЛЬНОЇ ВІДПОВІДАЛЬНОСТІ НА МІКРОРІВНІ УПРАВЛІННЯ

The purpose of the article is the scientific substantiation of the theoretical, methodological and applied aspects of ensuring the development of social responsibility at the micro-level of management, which involves modelling the influence of factors on the social capital of this level. Тhe priority role of social responsibility in establishing and ensuring the development of entrepreneurial activity is substantiated. A number of scientific statements regarding the essence and features of social responsibility at the micro-level of management are summarized. The list of means of stimulating the social responsibility of the enterprise is grouped. The importance of implementing basic standards of social responsibility at enterprises was emphasized. A methodological approach has been modified and proposed, which allows you to verify the values of the indicators, which are used mostly at the stages of evaluating the efficiency of the enterprise. The list of factors determining the possibility of increasing or decreasing the social capital of the enterprise is summarized. It is proved that the mathematical interpretation of the importance of the influence of each factor on the possibilities of social capital change is the determination of weighting coefficients, which is carried out in several stages. It is emphasized that thanks to social responsibility, it is possible to increase the rate of growth of the efficiency of the use of resources at the micro-level of management. It has been proven that changes in social capital are essential for achieving a certain degree of enterprise management efficiency, which determines the compliance of its capabilities with regard to meeting new social, household, material and other needs directly of the staff, as well as market participants (buyers, business partners, certain groups of society). At the same time, the dynamics of social capital are influenced by factors that create the possibility of the emergence and development of social relations and ensure their preservation. It was concluded that the development of social responsibility of the enterprise increasingly determines its success in the competitive environment, increased business activity, and increased influence on the market.

Dissecting the Roles of Social Capital in Farmer-to-Farmer Extension: A Review

Various types of relationships within a farmer-to-farmer (F2F) extension system can influence farmers’ access to advancement opportunities, resources, capacity building, and social and professional networks. Using a social capital theoretical lens, this review elucidates the nature of these relationships and networks to better understand how bonding, bridging, and linking social capital may be leveraged in positive and negative ways and how relationship dynamics relate to farmers’ power, opportunities, and gender equity. This research demonstrates that all three types of social capital are instrumental but play different and often complementary roles in F2F extension. While bonding social capital is crucial for social cohesion, too few connections to outside actors and networks may cause farmer communities to become wary and unreceptive to innovation and change. On the other hand, outside linkages without sufficient bonding social capital to build trust may lead to inequitable distribution of desirable resources and power. Our most fundamental recommendation is to use social capital conceptualizations – specifically bonding, bridging, and linking – in the design, implementation, and evaluation of F2F extension systems. Participatory mapping of social capital, using a social equity lens, could help farmer groups identify where social capital is plentiful and where it is scarce. Building awareness among diverse farmer communities about social capital dynamics, especially linked to gender, may encourage shifts in attitudes and decision-making to reduce barriers and help marginalized farmers build social capital. Finally, we recommend making host communities and farmer groups attractive to outside interests, investments, and networks, to promote development and innovation.

A Theory of Social Capital Transference

Brokerage – occupying a social network position that spans two otherwise disconnected alters – is a well-established construct in the social network literature. While most academic attention has been devoted to examining brokers’ role and interests in keeping the two alters separated, theorists have yet to clarify the mechanisms through which brokers act as connectors. Integrating socio-cognitive and discursive perspectives, we conceptualize social capital transference as the process enabling a broker to join the two alters by facilitating goodwill between them. More specifically, we theorize the discursive strategies that brokers use to engender, in each of the two alters, cognitive expectations on the nature of their potential relationship that, if validated, lead to the formation of a closed triad. Our study sheds new light on social capital dynamics through cognitive and discursive perspectives and improves understanding of the microfoundations of brokering.

Dynamics of Social Capital In Management Of “Amarta” Village Business Entities Post-Covid-19 Pandemic

The Purpose Of This Study Is To Analyze The Dynamics Of Social Capital In The Management Of Village Business Entities Amarta. The Success Of Village Business Entities In Reviving The Post-Covid-19 Economy Is Closely Related To The Dynamics Of Social Capital. The Research Method Used Is A Qualitative Approach With Primary And Secondary Data. The Results Of The Analysis Show That The Social Capital Of Village Business Entities Amarta Has A Significant Impact On Village Economic Growth After The Covid-19 Pandemic, This Is Influenced By The Influence Of Social Capital From Component 1) Social Networks In The Form Of Ownership Of Common Goals Which Are Pursued Through Formal Discussions And Informal Discussions Involving The Community. 2) Norms, Namely Written And Unwritten Rules To Improve The Quality Of Village Business Entities Management. 3) Trust, Which Is Implemented In The Form Of Cooperation With Fellow Village Business Entities Management And The Application Of Openness In Efforts To Manage Village Business Entities. So The Social Capital Component Will Achieve The Output Of Improving The Performance Of Village Business Entities.

Can you hold an advantageous network position? The role of neighborhood similarity in the sustainability of structural holes in social networks

The literature has provided multiple metrics to measure the structural position of a node in a network or its structural social capital. However, the dynamics of social capital is rarely addressed. In this article, we analyze the sustainability of the structural position of the leaders. We explore the role of neighborhood similarity and propose inbound and outbound similarity measures to address the structural hole's sustainability. To evaluate our approach, we use four real dynamic graphs and Susceptible, Infectious, or Recovered (SIR) model of epidemiology and regression analysis. We evaluate the power of our measures in predicting the evolution of the information spread of nodes, and compare the results with the measures from the literature. Our results confirm the relevance of neighborhood similarity for addressing the sustainability of social capital over time. In particular, the notions of inbound and outbound similarity proposed in this article show its relevance. The proposed framework allows better evaluation of one's strategic position in a social network and measures the potential future impact.

'The threat is in all of us': Perceptions of loneliness and divided communities in urban and rural areas during COVID-19.

Loneliness is becoming recognised as an important social issue with health and well‐being consequences. The recent and ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic has likely impacted loneliness through increased social isolation, though the effects may vary across urban and rural locations, where the dynamics of social capital, community cohesion and community divide are likely to differ. This paper consequently examines the different and compounding impacts of isolating disasters, such as bushfires and pandemics, on social capital and loneliness in urban and rural areas of Australia. This article compares experiences of loneliness in rural/regional and urban areas of Australia moving from the aftermath of the 2019–2020 bushfires into the COVID‐19 pandemic. Semi‐structured interviews provide a complex insight into how loneliness is experienced across different locations. The key findings included a higher sense of social divide exacerbating loneliness in rural communities, higher levels of loneliness among participants who lived alone in either area. It was concluded that loneliness was experienced extensively among those who were single and/or lived alone, regardless of their geographical location.

The Dynamics of Social Capital: Examining the Reciprocity between Network Features and Social Support

AbstractAn essential tenet of social capital is that it is a reciprocal process: social networks produce desirable outcomes, and the resulting outcomes can then feed back into influencing networks. The current study is among the first to examine a dynamic, reciprocal process of social capital, using within-person measures from 2,065 reports of offline and online daily social interactions from 66 participants over a 1-week period. Results show that online and offline social interactions, characterized by tie strength and communication diversity, generate different levels of emotional, practical, and informational support, which, in turn, exerts differential influence on tie strength and diversity of subsequent interactions. Results also reveal a mismatch between the resulting social support and subsequent motivated social interactions. Importantly, social support reinforces subsequent tie strength but reduces communication diversity.

SYSTEM-DYNAMIC MODELING OF THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL ON ECONOMIC GROWTH

This paper presents a qualitative and quantitative system-dynamic modeling of the impact of social capital on economic growth. Social capital is the most problematic of all the concepts that determine progress. On a broad conceptual level, there is agreement about the importance of social capital, which has been used to explain differences in progress among nations with similar natural, human and physical capital. Recent research suggests that it is more important to include an explanation of the interaction of economic actors and their organization when measuring progress than to measure progress without the influence of social capital. The purpose of this paper is to develop a system-dynamic model of the impact of social capital on economic growth that will enable better understanding and management of social capital. In order to build a system dynamics model, the paper will: provide an analysis and overview of social capital and system dynamics; develop a system dynamics structural and mental-verbal model of the impact of social capital on economic growth; and develop a mathematical model of economic growth. This will provide a practical insight into the dynamic behavior of the observed system, i.e., analyzing economic growth and observing the mutual correlation between individual parameters. Keywords: social capital, economic growth, system dynamics, structural model

Are the effects always positive? Rethinking the role of parental social capital in the university choice process

ABSTRACT The extant literature on parental involvement in the university choice process sheds light on the positive impact of parents’ social capital on enrolment. Little research captures the complex dynamics of parental social capital that might within certain sociocultural and economic contexts compound the effects on university choice and access. This study contributes insight to address this gap, from the context of Hong Kong. It administered a questionnaire survey to 139 students and examined the role of parental social capital in students’ university aspirations. Moderated multiple regression analysis and simple slope analysis revealed that parent-student involvement – a main composite of parental social capital – weakened rather than strengthened the effect of parents’ cultural capital on the students’ educational aspirations. This study cautions us against a context-independent stance towards the value of parental social capital and warrants future research and policy work on how to optimise parental involvement in education.

Cooperatives and Social Capital: A Narrative Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

How cooperatives generate and absorb social capital has attracted a great deal of attention due to the fact that they are collective organizations owned and democratically managed by their members, and, accordingly, are argued to be closely linked to the nature and dynamics of social capital. However, the extant literature and knowledge on the relationship between cooperatives and social capital remain unstructured and fragmented. This paper aims to provide a narrative literature review that integrates both sides of the relationship between cooperatives and social capital. On the one hand, one side involves how cooperatives create internal social capital and spread it in their immediate environment, and, on the other hand, it involves how the presence of social capital promotes the creation and development of cooperatives. In addition, our theoretical framework integrates the dark side of social capital, that is, how the lack of trust, reciprocal relationships, transparency, and other social capital components can lead to failure of the cooperative. On the basis of this review, we define a research agenda that synthesizes key trends and promising research avenues for further advancement of theoretical and empirical insights about the relationship between cooperatives and social capital, placing particular emphasis on rural and agricultural cooperatives.

Revisiting the Dynamics of Social Capital, Government Performance, and Trust in Government: Evidence from South Korea

It is generally accepted that social capital can moderate the relationship between government performance and citizens trust in their government....

Study Protocol: Social Capital as a Resource for the Planning and Design of Socially Sustainable and Health Promoting Neighborhoods- A Mixed Method Study.

Introduction: Promoting inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable communities is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ratified in 2015 by 193 UN member states, not least in Sweden. Social sustainability involves preserving particular societal values (e.g., local identity) as well as developing values (e.g., social cohesion) that are perceived as needed. Socially sustainable development also implies promoting integration and preventing segregation. Social capital is one important indicator to measure how socially sustainable an area is. This project aims to explore how social capital can be used as a conceptual tool in developing housing policy for social sustainability in Umeå Municipality.Methods: The three sub-studies in this project combine quantitative and qualitative methods. We will conduct a review of the municipality's documents to understand how the ideas of social sustainability have influenced political declarations and implemented social and housing policies and interventions during the period 2006–2020. The quantitative study includes a longitudinal follow-up to the 2006 survey's respondents to assess the longitudinal impacts of neighborhood social capital on health and well-being; as well as a new repeated cross-sectional survey to investigate how social capital has changed in local neighborhoods from 2006 to 2020. The qualitative study includes case studies in neighborhoods with different social capital dynamics to understand how different resident sub-groups perceive their neighborhoods and how implemented social and housing policies have influenced the social capital dynamics and responded to the needs of different sub-groups. The project is run in close collaboration with the Commission for a Socially Sustainable Umeå.Discussions: This project will create new and unique perspectives on long-term structural changes of relevance for a socially sustainable housing policy; knowledge that is highly valuable for continuous municipal planning; and will outline recommendations to guide local housing policies for social sustainable neighborhoods in Umeå Municipality.Ethics: This study has been assessed and approved by the Swedish Ethics Review Authority (Dnr: 2019-04395; Dnr: 2020-00160; Dnr 2020-02757).Dissemination: The dissemination goals of this project are (1) sustained engagement of key stakeholders throughout the project and (2) dissemination of the research findings through popular science, conferences, and scientific papers.

The dynamics of social capital in first-year teaching teams: a comparative case study analysis

ABSTRACT Developing social capital in university teaching teams is a worthwhile exercise which can benefit students, educators and wider institutions through improvements in areas such as knowledge sharing, a critical component of effective teams. This case study analysis explores the social capital and knowledge sharing of two teaching teams at an Australian university. It found that strong positive signs of ‘bonding’ social capital were evident in terms of trust, relatedness and support, and these attributes were seen to be important in assisting the performance of these teams especially the sharing of knowledge. However, our research findings suggest that new information was more likely to be sourced internally rather than externally, which may pose a risk of lack of new ideas and innovation. A further finding was that existing social capital within the university teaching teams differed, suggesting that social capital development should not entail a one-size-fits-all approach. This research presents a useful social capital evaluation tool and provides leaders with the information needed to attend to group-specific nuances in developing team social capital, including knowledge sharing and access to new ideas. Meeting team-specific social capital needs through cultivating trust, belonging and support can benefit the teaching team, students and the institution.

A Social Capital Perspective on Computer-Mediated Group Communication and Performance: An Empirical Study

In light of the pervasiveness of collaborative decision making and technology in organizations, this research examines computer mediated collaboration using the lens of social capital. We draw from the Distributed Cognition Theory and others for our socio-technical investigation that incorporates the technical component as the artifact of electronic memory (group memory), and the social component as the history of interactions between members (group history). We study these under the mediating influence of the relational social capital dimensions of relational closeness and relational trust. Our study shows how social capital adds an important flavor to collaborative performance. We highlight how the traditional premise of memory being an unequivocal enhancer of group performance gets altered if one fails to consider the influence of relational social capital in the equation. We propose to practitioners that collaborative technology that offers memory cannot be viewed independently, but as a vehicle that impacts performance through the dynamics of social capital of the group. Most importantly, our research reinforces the need for a novel perspective to collaborative development. With the diaspora of technological advancement, there needs to be a transition in perceiving collaborative development as a concurrent, rather than a sequential, process of discussion and development of group activity.

Social Capital Across Agro-Pastoral Assets in the Abyei Area With Reference to Amiet “Peace” Market

The Abyei area, which straddles the border of the two Sudans, had been a theatre of war since 1965. In 2016, the Amiet market emerged from a remote forest grove to initiate a new kind of social contract making. It has quickly become a melting pot of various communities and created space for nurturing new relations but has also generated tensions that may threaten its own survival. As stakeholders negotiate a solution to the political dispute over Abyei, this article explains how agro-pastoral resources, including the market itself, factor in both conflict and cooperation. It cites evidence that social capital dynamics are changing along the lines of age and gender. It argues that these may present an opportunity for realigning interests amongst competitive communities, with Amiet market as a possible point of entry for policymakers. It concludes with recommendations for conflict transformation through commercialisation of the traditional agro-pastoral sector.

Social capital is not for sale: a supply network perspective on mergers and acquisitions

PurposeMergers and acquisitions (M&As) often lead to significant changes in the focal supply networks, hence disrupting firm-level relationships. Little is known about the supply network implications of M&As, which can be a major issue, especially for firms acquiring competitors that share suppliers, customers and associated resources. Using social capital as a theoretical lens, this research aims to investigate the implications of an acquisition on supply network relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe acquisition of a large truck manufacturer by its competitor is investigated using an exploratory case study methodology. A total of 24 interviews were conducted across ten companies in the focal supply network with an analysis of financial data.FindingsThe findings from the study provide evidence that firms seeking to acquire such relationships cannot directly buy the social capital embedded within those relationships. They identify pre-acquisition characteristics and post-integration factors to understand how the supply network as a whole draws on the structural, cognitive and relational dimensions of social capital to address discrepancies in the merging network.Originality/valueThis study depicts an empirically grounded, theory-based account of a post-acquisition supply network integration process, showing how an M&A can drastically impact customer and supplier network relationships. The main contribution of this paper lies in extending our understanding of how social capital cannot be simply transferred from one organisation to another during an M&A. Rather, this work illustrates how social capital in supply networks is transformed by considering the pre- and post-acquisition social capital dynamics of the merging networks.