Role Of Social Ties Research Articles

Family ties, interlocking directors and performance of business groups in emerging countries: The case of Chile

The effect of business groups on economic performance is controversial, both theoretically and empirically. We hypothesized that the seemingly contradictory empirical results can be explained by the differentiated governance structure of the business groups and, in particular, the role of social ties (family ties and interlocking directorates). Using a sample of Chilean firms, we analyzed the effects of social ties on the economic performance of firms affiliated to business groups. Our results support the hypothesis that the ownership-control structure (i.e., economic rights and voting rights) affects performance both directly and in interaction with social ties. Social ties improve performance when the concentration of voting rights is low, and when the voting rights of the controlling shareholders are aligned with their economic rights.

Loss, widowhood, and psychological distress among the elderly.

Psychological response to recent nonspousal familial loss was examined in a sample of elderly men and women (N = 825). Loss was related to a higher level of depressive symptomatology in men, but not women. Both the presence of a spouse and membership in a church or temple moderated the impact of loss on depression among men, such that widowed men who experienced a loss, and men who experienced a loss and did not belong to a church/temple, showed elevated depression scores. Widowed men who experienced recent nonspousal familial loss and did not belong to a church/temple were most depressed of all, with fully 100% of the respondents with these characteristics scoring above the cutpoint for depression established in community studies. Discussion centers on the role of social ties in buffering distress and gender differences in coping with stress. Outreach by churches/temples and other community organizations is suggested as appropriate intervention.

Social networks in labour migration

The Corby steelworks in Northamptonshire was run down in the late 1970s. This article examines the circulation of rumours within the works prior to the official redundancy notices and documents the role of social ties in the transmission of informal redundancy information.