Social Capital Literature Research Articles

The workplace as a source of ethnic tolerance? Studying interethnic contact and interethnic resources at work in the Netherlands

This study combines insights from contact theory and social capital literature to study how ethnic diversity at work is associated to ethnic tolerance. It is argued that workplace ethnic diversity is related to ethnic tolerance in two ways: through interethnic contact and through interethnic social resources. The interrelation between these two mechanisms is also considered. The study relies on unique workplace survey data from the Netherlands (N = 3800) with information on ethnic tolerance, measured as support for immigrant entitlements. The results show that ethnic diversity in the workplace is positively related to interethnic contact and interethnic resources at work, and both of these are positively related to ethnic tolerance. However, the initial positive effect of interethnic contact on support for immigrant entitlements is mediated by interethnic resources, thereby showing that the interethnic resources mechanism is more insightful as to how ethnically diverse workplaces matter for ethnic tolerance.

Comparing social capital among Muslims, Immigrants, and Americans: Does origin and religious affiliation matter?

This study compares social capital, including community engagement and volunteering, among Muslim immigrants, non-Muslim immigrants, and Americans using nationally representative data from the Current Population Survey: Volunteering and Civic Life Supplement in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The study uses a non-experimental associational research design and conducts a binary logistic regression analysis with an overall sample size of 349,592 (3781 being Muslim immigrants). Results indicate that Muslim immigrants are less likely to get together with other people from their neighborhood or volunteer for an organization or association than non-Muslim immigrants and Americans. Muslim and non-Muslim immigrants are less likely to belong to any groups, organizations, or associations than Americans. There is no statistically significant difference between Muslim immigrants, non-Muslim immigrants, and Americans in regards to their likelihood of attending public meetings or interacting with people from a different racial, ethnic, or cultural background from theirs. This study contributes to the social capital literature by differentiating nationality groups based on religious affiliation and finding that stratification occurs for underprivileged country of origin groups. We recommend that resources be devoted towards Muslim immigrants for organizing civic organizations, joining mainstream civic organizations, and interventions by committed institutional agents to reduce stratification between Muslim immigrants, non-Muslim immigrants, and Americans.

To formalize, or not to formalize, business incubators’ networks: That is not the question

With more than seven decades of supporting entrepreneurs, today's business incubators are distinguished by their external networks. These networks of collaborators provide key resources, knowledge, and skills. Studies call on incubator managers to formalize the management of their networks, a practice that can generate a competitive advantage. However, research to date has been relatively silent on how to manage these external resources. To address this, the management practices of a top-performing business incubator in Canada were observed. Close to 50 individual interviews were conducted over a four-year period and theoretical concepts from the business incubation, network and social capital literature inspired the observed practices. The results show that network management is a shared responsibility between entrepreneurs, external stakeholders, and managers and formalizing external ties cannot be an all-purpose practice. As such, a theoretical framework is proposed to shed light on the dynamic nature of managing social capital. A management that is both relational and structuring brings out the trust and autonomy of people in situations of dynamic and, sometimes, constraining interactions. Highlighting these practices contributes to a more refined conceptualization of incubator management and, on a practical level, raises the importance of the human and relational dimensions in managing these changing environments.

The Effects of Top Management Team External Social Capital on Firm's Openness: Exploring the Mediating Role of Strategic Knowledge Integration

Going from the knowledge-based view of the firm, we designed a framework to describe top management team's (TMT) external social capital as a determinant of the depth and breadth of external knowledge search strategies in open innovation and Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) innovation performance. Besides, we examined the significance of strategic knowledge integration in external knowledge search strategies and innovation performance. Using a sample of 252 Kenyan manufacturing SMEs, the authors applied partial least square to a structural equation model to test the suggested hypotheses. The findings reveal that firms with intense, more frequent, and closer TMT external social capital with external knowledge sources can enhance the stock of externally acquired knowledge, showing that TMT's external social capital plays a crucial role in facilitating the breadth and depth of external knowledge search strategies. The article also finds that external knowledge search breadth is more affected by TMT's external social capital, whereas strategic knowledge integration mediates external knowledge search practices and innovation performance. Therefore, firms with a good ability to identify new opportunities and dynamic strategic businesses tend to be more innovative. This article contributes to social capital and open innovation literature by analyzing two critical determinants: external social capital and strategic knowledge integration. This article attempts to address these gaps in the literature by linking TMT's external social capital, the search for external knowledge, and strategic knowledge integration to innovation performance.

The impact of social network embeddedness on mobile massively multiplayer online games play

AbstractSocial factors play a critical role in motivating player participation and commitment to online multiplayer games. Many popular mobile massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) adopt social network embeddedness (SNE) functions to optimise players' social play experience. SNE changes the traditional pattern of MMOG social play by porting acquaintance relationships (e.g., Facebook friends) from social networking sites to the virtual game world. However, little understanding exists on how SNE impacts mobile MMOG players' game participation results such as play performance and play frequency. Drawing on the affordance framework and social capital literature, this research proposes a theoretical model that integrates the factors of SNE technology affordance (identity transparency and information transparency), players' social experience (social interaction, social support, shared vision, and social pressure), plus affordance effects (play performance and play frequency). The model was validated through a longitudinal field study, in which both subjective and objective data were collected from Game for Peace players. Our findings indicate that identity transparency and information transparency positively correlate with social interaction, social support, shared vision, and social pressure, which, taken together, significantly affect play frequency. The results also show that social interaction and shared vision positively impact players' play performance. The study enhances the theoretical understanding of social relationships in players' game participation results from the SNE aspect. Finally, we lend insights on how game operators can improve player game experience and stickiness.

Employees’ social capital in South Korea: A systematic review and implications for HRD research and practice

ABSTRACT As the workplace is calling for more collaboration and teamwork, social capital has become increasingly popular in the human resource development (HRD) and management fields. In this article, we systematically reviewed social capital research in South Korea by focusing on the definitional and methodological issues as well as the impact of social capital, as documented in 57 empirical studies analysed. Our findings showed that social capital researchers have witnessed an upsurge of interest in social capital in Korea since the 2010s. In addition, we mapped out the nomological network of social capital research by incorporating all prior empirical evidence. Finally, we identified the lack of indigenous conceptualisations of social capital and methodological limitations in previous research. We proposed that utilising social network analysis and diversifying research approaches would provide additional insights that will advance current social capital and HRD literatures.

Impact of audit committee social capital on the adoption of COSO 2013

This study aims to examine the effect of audit committee social capital, measured using network centrality from social network theory, on the adoption of the COSO 2013 updated internal control framework (COSO 2013). Drawing on social capital literature, we argue that well-connected audit committees have informational advantages and reputational concerns which prompt them to learn more about best industry practices and adopt those practices in their own organizations. As predicted, we find organizations that have well-connected audit committees are more likely to adopt COSO 2013 and do so in a timely manner. Additional analysis indicates that our findings are driven by overall audit committee connectedness and not by the connectedness of committee chairs, committee financial experts, or committee members, and hold only for accelerated filers. Further, we find, contrary to conventional wisdom, that audit committee connectedness prompts KPMG client organizations to adopt COSO 2013. The results hold even after controlling for CEO and CFO connectedness and are robust to endogeneity concerns. By linking audit committee connectedness with COSO 2013 adoption, we add to the literature investigating the effect of audit committee characteristics on firm compliance with internal control framework updates.

Membership and citizenship within an embedded theory of democracy

While the main economic theories regarding the third sector argue that nonprofit organisations arise as institutional solutions to government and market failures, their role in influencing public and market outcomes are far less explored in economic research. This gap can be filled by borrowing from the social capital literature that provides a more highly integrated vision of the relationship among the three sectors. From this overturned perspective, the paper suggests an embedded theory of democracy in which civil society organisations play a crucial role in making democratic institutions work, by shaping social relations among citizens through equal and inclusive membership structures.

Tax morale and social capital: An empirical investigation among European citizens

AbstractDespite the extensive literature examining determinants of tax morale, little is still known about the relationship between the associational involvement of citizens and their willingness to pay taxes. Given the insights offered by the social capital literature regarding the role of voluntary organizations in shaping civic engagement, this study empirically investigates how membership of different types of associations could influence individual tax morale in Europe. With this in mind, we exploit the information available in the fifth wave of the European Values Study for citizens of 34 countries. Unlike previous studies on tax morale, we classify the types of voluntary associations depending on their potential to build out‐group “bridging” or in‐group “bonding” social ties. In this study, to carry out the classification, three alternative approaches are considered which are based on the sociodemographic heterogeneity within associations, the interconnections between them, and a combination of both. Our findings show that, after controlling for different individual characteristics and country‐specific unobserved heterogeneity, those survey respondents involved in bridging associations tend to exhibit higher levels of tax morale, while the opposite is found for bonding associations. The results are quite robust for the three approaches and different estimation strategies, including an instrumental‐variables methodology.

A social capital approach of market orientation in public non‐profit organizations: The case of blood transfusion centers in Spain

AbstractIn order to identify the determinants of market (donor) orientation in blood transfusion centers and services (BTCS), this study seeks to analyze whether connectedness and interpersonal trust represent a fundamental basis for interfunctional coordination that leads to market (donor) orientation. An empirical study was carried out with 147 participants from 14 Spanish BTCS. The measurement scales were validated through CFA and the proposed relationship model was tested using SEM. Both interpersonal trust and connectedness that exist among BTCS members foster interfunctional coordination and, ultimately, their donor orientation. Thus, BTCS must emphasize their internal relationship networks, rearranging them in favor of their donor orientation. This paper integrates social capital literature with market orientation literature, and it proposes empirical evidence on the role played by internal social links on interfunctional coordination, which leads to market orientation. This research proposes a reliable and valid measure of blood donor orientation, which could be useful for the future testing of theory and research in the non‐profit context. BTCS should adopt an organizational design which allows the introduction of a new managerial paradigm. People in charge of different areas at BTCS must pay particular attention to the climate of trust and the level of connectedness in cross‐functional relationships. The negative evolution of blood donation and the results of this research suggest that BTCS need to apply a management model focused on the donor, in order to achieve a sustainable donation system.

Does Social Capital Mitigate Managerial Self-Dealing? Evidence From Insider Trading

In this study, we examine whether the social capital surrounding the firm’s corporate headquarters mitigates managerial self-dealing in the form of opportunistic insider trading. We find strong evidence that the level of social capital in the region surrounding the firm’s headquarters is negatively and significantly associated with insider trading profitability. We also find that the negative association between social capital and insider trading profitability is more pronounced when governance is weaker and corporate opacity is higher, instances where insiders have greater opportunities to trade on their private information. Further analyses on the potential mechanisms suggest that the negative association is stronger when the firm’s social networks are denser and when the civic norms in the region are stronger. Overall, our article contributes to the growing social capital literature in accounting and finance by providing direct empirical evidence that social capital mitigates managerial self-serving behavior in the form of opportunistic insider trading.

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

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.

Is social capital always “Capital”?: Measuring and leveraging social capital in online user communities for in-group diffusion

Literature shows that social capital promotes diffusion in online user communities (OUCs). This research aims to show that social capital acts as a double-edged sword by promoting or suppressing in-group diffusion depending on the compatibility of the product with group identity (i.e., a topic or subject of common interest in the community). We analyze the diffusion of newly released music tracks across multiple communities on Last.fm, a world-leading music social network website. Across all three dimensions of social capital (cognitive, relational, and structural dimensions), we consistently find that the compatibility of the product with group identity moderates the relationship between social capital and in-group diffusion; social capital promotes in-group diffusion of songs that are compatible with group identity but suppresses in-group diffusion of songs that are incompatible with group identity. The findings contribute to the social capital and OUC literature and provide interesting implications for OUC managers.

The impact of a multimodal professional network on developing social capital and research capacity of faculty at historically black colleges and universities

This qualitative case study examined how a multimodal professional network environment (STEM for all Video Showcase) affected five STEM educational researchers’ capacity to engage in grant funded research at U.S. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Guided by the social capital and professional network literature as a conceptual framework, we analyzed data from surveys, interviews, and online discussion posts. We aimed to understand HBCU-based researchers’ supports and barriers in writing and/or conducting grant funded research in STEM education, and ways in which the multimodal professional network experience supported their research and professional networking, if at all. We found that organizational structures shaped participants’ social capital as well as their grant funded research activities. Further, participating in a multimodal professional network enabled participants to further develop their research capacity and to also expand their collegial networks. We offer recommendations for institutions to support the research endeavors of their faculty and suggest ways in which organizations using or developing professional multimodal networks can enhance faculty research development.

SOCIAL NETWORKING RELATIONSHIPS AND DIGITAL MICROENTERPRISE GROWTH IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION

This paper aims to examine the role of social networking relationships in growing an informal sector digital microenterprise and the mediating effect of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO). Using data from 248 digital microenterprises in the informal sector of Senegal, this study utilizes multiple regression and Hayes process macro Model 4 to show that social networking relationships are positively associated with online informal microbusiness’ growth and IEO. It further reveals that IEO is related to digital microenterprise growth and partially mediates its link with social networking relationships. This study contributes to the social capital literature by showing that social relationships with external entities can provide resources to buffer against infrastructure and resource deficits and other growth challenges found in developing countries. It also extends the literature on IEO by facilitating a deeper understanding of individual entrepreneurial behaviors that can help transform resources from social networking relationships into growth in an informal digital environment.

Doing Well Brings More Friends? The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Guanxi

Despite numerous studies that have discussed the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on financial outcome, less is known about how CSR benefits social relations such as guanxi. In addition, the literature on guanxi mostly focuses on its impacts but not on how to build it, especially in Chinese society where guanxi plays a substantial role. Anchored in CSR and social capital literature, we present a conceptual model to examine the impact of CSR on guanxi (i.e., political guanxi and business guanxi), and we further focus on the moderating roles of environmental munificence to advance our understanding. From a sample of 1843 Chinese listed firms from 2010 to 2018, the empirical results showed that engaging in more CSR is beneficial for firms in gaining more political connections; however, rather than a high or low level of CSR, a moderate level can help firms develop more business guanxi. Moreover, we also found that a high level of CSR is more conducive to building political guanxi in a highly munificent environment. A moderate level of CSR, coupled with a low level of environmental munificence, is optimal for business guanxi building.

The Interplay of Social Capital, Mobility, and Productivity: A Study on Pharmaceutical Inventors

Extant literature on social capital has demonstrated the positive effects of brokerage on employee productivity, particularly in knowledge-intensive and creative environments. Yet, little is known about the interactions between employee brokerage and employee mobility to competitors, another common theme in the strategic human capital literature. We posit that employees in brokerage positions face unique information and exposure and have different external opportunities than their peers in more constrained network positions. However, as brokerage is an inherently local network position, we further argue that the effect of mobility on employee productivity is substantially different for those in brokerage positions versus those in constrained networks. Moreover, the nature of these consequences is contingent on the breadth of expertise of employees. Using a large, longitudinal sample of inventors working for the world’s major pharmaceutical firms, we find partial support for the interactive effects of brokerage, mobility, and productivity. The findings of this study contribute to the social capital literature on employee brokerage and to strategic human capital research on inventor mobility.

Social ties, absorptive capacity, and the adoption of green innovation: a social capital perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine how social ties (i.e. business ties and political ties) affect the adoption of green innovation in the context of emerging economies, separately and comparatively. In addition, this study also seeks to examine how absorptive capacity shapes the relationships between social ties and the adoption of green innovation.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model with hypothesized relationships is proposed and tested using regression in SPSS. This study’s sample consists of a dataset covering 272 Chinese firms (based on a total of 544 respondents) operating in various industries with two key informants in each firm.FindingsThe authors find that business ties and political ties both facilitate the adoption of green innovation, whereas business ties influence the adoption more strongly than political ties do. This study’s findings also show that absorptive capacity strengthens the positive relationships between the two types of social ties and the adoption of green innovation.Originality/valueAlthough scholarship has amply documented the role that social ties play in influencing corporate performance, few studies have considered how and under what conditions these ties can impact the adoption of green innovation. Overall, the authors add value to the environmental management and social capital literature by providing novel insights into the differential roles that business ties and political ties play in the adoption of green innovation under the influence of absorptive capacity.

Expatriates' adjustment and performance in risky environments: the role of organizational support and rewards, risk propensity and resilience

PurposeDrawing upon the social exchange and psychological capital literature and applying a multilevel perspective, this paper examines how personal and organizational factors contribute to expatriates' adjustment and performance of international assignments in a terrorism-induced risky environment.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using a non-probability sampling approach (e.g. purposive and subsequent snowball sampling). The authors tested the hypotheses using survey data of 138 expatriates with current international assignments in Pakistan.FindingsExpatriates' perceived organizational and risk-taking propensity influences their performance through improved adjustment. Moderating effects suggest that an individual's satisfaction with the received organizational rewards strengthens the risk-taking propensity to adjustment relationship; resilience strengthens the adjustment to performance relationship.Originality/valueThis study extends existing expatriation literature by focusing on a specific type of risk factor pertinent to international assignments, i.e. terrorism. Integrating individual and organizational factors that influence adjustment and subsequent performance provides a clear picture rather if such factors are operationalized separately in the terrorism-induced risky environment context.

Exploring the role of social capital mechanisms in cooperative resilience

We contribute to research on cooperative resilience by examining how their main advantage of social foundations may facilitate the assembly of resilience capabilities. Drawing from the social capital literature, we focus on the strategies and activities of a nationally known rural cooperative in Indonesia to reveal social capital mechanisms, specifically channeling and targeting social capital, that underlie diverse sets of resilience capabilities. By conceptualizing cooperative resilience according to cooperatives’ dual objectives of economic and social viability, we build an empirically grounded framework that encompasses social capital-driven mechanisms that underlie cooperative resilience. Economically, strengthening social capital (channeling) may result in organizational transparency and collaborative work, while widening social networks (targeting) develops velocity and flexibility. Socially, both mechanisms lead to the emergence of individual-level resilience capabilities. Our study informs business research on resilience by conceptualizing it in the context of cooperatives and shedding light on its underlying social capital-driven mechanisms.