Social Capital Variables Research Articles

INFLUENCE OF COMPETENCE, TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL CAPITAL AND PERFORMANCE ON EMPLOYEE CAREERS

Every employee would expect a career enhancement in his job. There are many factors that affect employee careers. This study aims to examine the influence of Competence, Transformational Leadership, Social Capital and Performance to Career Employees of Mercu Buana University, is a quantitative research with Path Analysis method. This research was conducted at Mercu Buana University in West Jakarta area, the research sample was 185 employees using Simple Random Sampling method. Associated with the performance of employees, the results showed that there is an influence of competence on performance, there is the influence of transformational leadership on performance, there is the influence of social capital on performance. In the case of employee career, the result of research indicate that there is influence of competence to career of employee, there is influence of employee career performance, there is influence of social capital to career of employee. The result of path analysis gives a structural equation Y = 0,258X1 + 0,213X2 + 0,229X3 + 0,416X4 + 0,36. Thus it can be explained that the most direct influence on Employee Career is a Performance variable of 41.6%, while the Competence variable of 25.8% and social capital variable of 22.9%.
 Keywords:Competence,Transformational Leadership, Social Capital, Performance,Careers

Differences in the effects of social network, trust, and co-operation on fishery co-management

This study empirically analyzed the effects of social network, trust, and co-operation on the fishery management consciousness of small-scale fishers in the Philippines. Data were obtained through a survey of 467 fishing households living in the municipalities of Altavas, Batan, and New Washington around the Batan Estuary in Central Philippines in 2012. Structural equation modeling was applied to estimate the relationship between the social capital variables and fishery management consciousness. Chi-square test and fit indices indicated that the model fitted the data in every municipality. The results showed that network variables had significant effects in Altavas, while trust and co-operation had significant effects in Batan. In New Washington, network, trust, and co-operation all had significant effects. A bridging network demonstrated a significant negative effect in Altavas, which suggested negative effects of social capital in the fishery management context. The differences in the effect of social capital components appear to depend on whether the type of management practiced by the municipality is top-down or bottom-up.

The Influence of Social Networks on Living Organ Donors

Background The characteristics of people who volunteer as living organ donors have not been well delineated. Social capital perspectives offer unique insights to those who give altruistically. We examined the social networks of potential living kidney and liver donors who completed their preliminary medical donor work up and were scheduled for psycho-social consultation with our independent living donor advocate. Methods In our cross-sectional study, potential kidney and liver donors (n=48) were recruited from May 2016 to April 2017. Demographics were recorded (age, gender, marital status, state of residence, citizenship, socioeconomic status, and relationship of donor to recipient). Potential donors were asked about the frequency of contact with their families and the recipient, their perceived donor-recipient relationship post-donation, ethnicity and generation, native language spoken, family composition and their birth order, and self-care practices. Social capital variables included enrollment on Facebook/social media, physical activities/hobbies, whether they had children and/or pets, and engagement in spiritual practices. Results As shown in Table 1, mean donor age was 43±13, with 60% females. Our cohort was ethnically diverse, 17% and 24% being of Asian and Pacific Islander descent respectively. Most donors were biologically or emotionally related to their recipients, and 3 met on social media. All donors had at least a high school education; 33% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. 67% of donors were the eldest or youngest sibling. Only 7% were unemployed or retired. In terms of social capital, 77% were active on Facebook (median number of friends = 150), 69% had signed up to other social media platforms, 73% had a religious association, and 86% indicated frequent/very frequent contact with family members. Discussion In our diverse population, potential living organ donors had strong familial connections and social media usage. Spirituality, having a spouse, and a robust social network may guide someone toward the altruistic act of living donation. Social media may have a positive impact in promoting positive behavior (willingness to donate) through shared social capital (propagating social norms). Conventional psychosocial evaluation focuses on social support as a criterion for donation. Future work should explore the characteristics of someone’s social network to better understand the keys to a successful donor process. Pamela Derish, UCSF Department of Surgery, Scientific Publications Manager.

Population levels of wellbeing and the association with social capital

BackgroundThis research investigates wellbeing at the population level across demographic, social and health indicators and assesses the association between wellbeing and social capital.MethodData from a South Australian monthly chronic disease/risk factor surveillance system of randomly selected adults (mean age 48.7 years; range 16–99) from 2014/5 (n = 5551) were used. Univariable analyses compared wellbeing/social capital indicators, socio-demographic, risk factors and chronic conditions. Multi-nominal logistic regression modelling, adjusting for multiple covariates was used to simultaneously estimate odds ratios for good wellbeing (reference category) versus neither good nor poor, and good wellbeing versus poor wellbeing.Results48.6% were male, mean age 48.7 (sd 18.3), 54.3% scored well on all four of the wellbeing indicators, and positive social capital indicators ranged from 93.1% for safety to 50.8% for control over decisions. The higher level of social capital corresponded with the good wellbeing category. Modeling showed higher odds ratios for all social capital variables for the lowest level of wellbeing. These higher odds ratios remained after adjusting for confounders.ConclusionsThe relationship between wellbeing, resilience and social capital highlights areas for increased policy focus.

UNDERSTANDING PATHWAYS AMONG SOCIAL CAPITAL, DEPRESSION, AND SUICIDAL IDEATION FOR KOREAN ELDERLY

Unfortunately the suicide rate of older adults in South Korea has been ranked first among OECD countries for long periods of time. Previous studies have identified older people’s socioeconomic status, physical health, mental health, and lack of social support are significantly associated with suicidal ideation. However, little research has been conducted to examine how older adults’ social capital including social relationship can mitigate suicidal ideation mediated by depression. For data analysis, 3524 older adults from the Korean welfare panel study data were utilized. We used structural equation modeling to examine direct and indirect effects among social capital, depression, and suicidal ideation. Results showed that higher levels of social trust and satisfaction from family relations significantly predicted lower levels of suicidal ideation. In addition, indirect paths from social capital variables including social trust, reciprocity, and relationships to suicidal ideation were all significantly mediated by levels of depressive symptoms. The findings indicate that enhancing older people’s social capital can reduce their suicidal ideation as well as depressive symptoms. Thus, we need to consider how to develop social capital through strengthening social trust, reciprocity, and supportive networks among older adults.

가정안전에 대한 사회자본의 효과 분석 : 1인가구와 한부모가구를 중심으로

Recently, concern about family safety is rising again as an important issue with the context of family healthiness and well-being in Korean society despite of the dramatic economic growth. The purpose of this study is to examine the status of family safety of singles and single-parent households and to investigate the effect of social capital on the level of their family safety. Data are from the 10th wave of Korea Welfare Panel Study analysing one-person households(N=2,017) and single-parent households(N=172). One- person households were categorized as three groups by age(the youths/middle-aged/the elderly) and single-parent households were also three by family types(mother-child/ fahter-child/grandparent-child). The major results were as follows: First, the mean of family safety index was highest among middle-aged, while single youths had the fewest problems in terms of family safety. Second, social capital was found to vary by family structure. In the one-person households, all the levels of the social capital variables, including trust, bond, acceptance, and participation, differed significantly; only two variables, bond and embracement, differed in the single-parent households. Third, social capital differed between the low-income households and others significantly. Forth, the positive effects of social capital on overcoming family safety problems were investigated. In conclusion, social capital represents an alternative resource for overcoming economic hardship for low-income one-person/single-parent households, especially for middle-aged singles and father-child single-parent households. Based on these empirical results, theoretical implications were discussed with regard to family policy and programs.

How does resilience matter? An empirical verification of the relationships between resilience and vulnerability

The theoretical relationships between resilience and vulnerability have long been debated, but limited research has been done to test their relationships from an empirical perspective. This study presents an important case to demonstrate the empirical verification of the relationships. After reviewing relevant theories, we propose revisions of two widely adopted disaster risk and vulnerability formulas and apply them in a Taiwanese case of Typhoon Morakot. The data incorporate four natural hazard data sets, a Taiwan Social Change Survey of nonvictims as the reference group, and a longitudinal data set of Social Impact and Recovery Survey for Typhoon Morakot victims (2010–2012). With those data, two sets of models were constructed based on the two revised formulas. The first set of models estimates a disaster risk, defined as the probability and expected value of victimization determined by the typhoon hazard, household’s exposure, and contextual vulnerability composed of social class, ethnicity, education, and family status. The second set of models estimates an affected household’s outcome vulnerability, defined as the continuous trajectory of household living condition consisted of exposure, contextual vulnerability, and resilience. In the second set, outcome vulnerability is measured through household income pre- and post-disaster to depict the impact and dynamism; resilience is measured through social capital variables. Logit, ordinal linear regression (OLS), and fixed-effect regression were applied to statistically estimate the models. The results highlight that contextual vulnerability deteriorates the disaster risk of typhoon. Resilience has an impact on outcome vulnerability, but its effect is uncertain, likely to be restricted in the disaster recovery.

Water conservation behavior and environmental concerns: Evidence from a representative sample of Italian individuals

Water conservation represents important pro-environmental behavior for a sustainable environment. We investigate the link between water conservation behavior and general environmental concerns, using a large dataset from the Multipurpose Household Survey conducted annually by the Italian Central Statistics Office and controlling for socio-economic characteristics and regional variables. Univariate probit models show that pollution and resource exhaustion are positively related to individual water conservation behavior while alteration of environmental heritage exhibits a negative relationship with water saving behavior. Our findings are robust to the inclusion of environment knowledge and social capital variables. Robustness analysis also indicates that television and radio, participation in environmental initiatives, money for environmental protection and churchgoing are significant positive drivers of water conservation behavior, as are several individual characteristics like having young children, being older, poorly educated, a homeowner, unemployed and retired.

Social capital and career advancement of female academic staff in Nigerian universities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the social capital factors of career advancement of female academic staff in Nigerian universities.Design/methodology/approachA measurement and structural analysis were conducted for the three independent variables and a dependent variable on 20 public universities. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The dependent variable was female academic staff career advancement and the independent variables were mentoring, networking and government machinery. Using stratified random sampling, 532 academic staff were selected as the study respondents. They represented sampling criteria such as federal and state universities.FindingsStructural modeling analysis showed that social capital variables, specifically mentoring, networking and government machinery variables, were significant contributors to the career advancement of the female academic staff in Nigerian universities.Practical implicationsThis study creates an insight into the knowledge of career advancement among female academic staff in public universities. These institutions dominate the university system in Nigeria and serve as the main avenue for university education in the country. At the level of higher institution, HRD is significant, particularly in creating awareness among academic staff about their career planning and aspirations, the role that the perceived environmental factors play in their advancement to higher positions in the university and how they should further utilize those factors.Originality/valueThe paper examines social capital factors (limited to mentoring, networking and government machinery) that are of concern to managing the career advancement of female academic staff in public universities.

Social capital and cigarette smoking: New empirics featuring the Norwegian HUNT data

Using a rich Norwegian longitudinal data set, this study explores the effects of different social capital variables on the probability of cigarette smoking. There are four social capital variables available in two waves of our data set. Our results based on probit (and OLS) analyses (with municipality fixed-effects) show that the likelihood of smoking participation is negatively and significantly associated with social capital attributes, namely, community trust (–0.017), participation in organizational activities (–0.032), and cohabitation (–0.045). Significant negative associations were also observed in panel data, pooled OLS, and random effects models for community trust (–0.024; −0.010) and cohabitation (–0.040; −0.032). Fixed-effects models also showed significant negative effects for cohabitation (–0.018). Estimates of alternative instrumental variables (IV) based on recursive bivariate probit and IV-GMM models also confirmed negative and significant effects for three of its characteristics: cohabitation (–0.030; −0.046), community trust (–0.065; −0.075), and participation in organizational activities (–0.035; −0.046). The limitations of our conclusions are discussed, and the significance of our study for the field of social capital and health is described, along with suggested avenues for future research.

Geographic Patterns and Socio-Economic Influences on Internet Use in U.S. States: A Spatial and Multivariate Analysis

Discourse and interest in the digital divide research community is steadily shifting beyond access and adoption to utilization, impact, and outcomes of information and communications technologies (ICTs), particularly the internet. In the United States, studies and surveys conducted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) indicate increase in internet use in every corner of the country over the last two decades. However, recent surveys on ICT use indicate significant disparities in dimensions of internet use. For example Americans’ use of the internet to pursue e-education, e-health, e-commerce, e-entertainment, and telecommuting has varied significantly – longitudinally as well as geographically. Additionally, internet use habits are rapidly expanding, providing new insights into the emerging internet of things, wearable technologies, and new forms of social media usage. As novel technologies and lifestyles emerge, analysis of new disparities and dimensions of the “usage digital divide” stemming from social, economic, societal, and environmental factors becomes important. This research examines spatial clusters, geographic disparities, and socio-economic dimensions of existing and emerging dimensions of internet use among the 50 U.S. states. We adapt the Spatially Aware Technology Utilization Model (SATUM) for internet use by positing associations of 20 independent demographic, economic, infrastructural, affordability, innovation, societal openness, and social capital variables with 17 indicators of internet use spanning e-education, e-commerce, e-health, e-education, telecommuting, and emerging forms of internet use. Data on the 17 indicators of internet use are sourced from the July 2015 CPS Supplement on internet use from the U.S. Census. Data on traditional independent correlates are sourced from the same Supplement, U.S. Census of Population, U.S. Economic Census, while data on societal openness, social capital, infrastructure correlates are collected from George Mason University’ Mercatus Center, FCC’s National Broadband Map initiative, and noted political scientist Robert Putnam’s publicly available data on civic engagement. First, descriptive mapping provides important visual cues about patterns of internet use in U.S. states. Subsequently, K-means cluster analysis of multiple internet use-related factors is conducted to determine agglomerations of states that are most similar in patterns of internet use and outcomes. Subsequently, statistically significant “hotspots” and “coldspots” of internet use and outcomes among U.S. states are identified, followed by spatial autocorrelation analysis of various dimensions of internet usage. A-priori diagnosis of spatial autocorrelation is critical to understand and possibly account for the presence of spatial bias while examining social, economic, societal, and environmental underpinnings of internet usage. Regression residuals are mapped and examined for spatial autocorrelation. Systematic examination of rapidly evolving dimensions of internet use among U.S. states distinguishes this work. Novelties include thorough analysis of disparities stemming from geography, results showing socio-economic, infrastructural, affordability, civic engagement, and societal openness determinants of the internet “usage digital divide,” and longitudinal analysis of change dimensions. A methodological novelty is diagnosis of spatial autocorrelation of internet use, largely ignored in digital divide literature. Left undiagnosed, this can potentially bias regression-based associations of independent variables associated with internet usage. Finally, the findings of this work have critical policy implications at a time when expanding and stimulating greater variety and intensity of internet use and impacts are well-recognized as aspirations of state and federal policies.

All You Need Is Facebook Friends? Associations between Online and Face-to-Face Friendships and Health.

Positive social relations are known to have a beneficial impact on health, however, little is known about the links of health with online relationships. In this study, we compare face-to-face and virtual friendships in their association with health. By building on previous results of studies conducted on the well-being of college students, we expect to find stronger associations of face-to-face friendships with health than of those established through Facebook. Furthermore, we expect to test the mediating role of social capital variables in this process. Two large-scale studies conducted in community samples (Study 1 = 350 urban residents; Study 2 = 803 urban and rural residents) showed that the number and quality of face-to-face friendships were directly associated with self-reported health status, however, the same did not occur with Facebook friendships. Moreover, the association of face-to-face friendships with health was totally mediated by bonding (mostly) but also bridging social capital. These results, replicated in both studies, were found controlling for confounding variables such as age, gender, education, living alone, self-esteem, and socioeconomic status. This pattern of results emphasizes the gains of face-to-face over online friendships for individuals’ health status in community samples.

Human and social capital determinants of translational activity in medical sciences

This article examines how human and social capital affect the production of medical innovation outputs along the translational research continuum. Despite efforts like the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Sciences Award program to institutionalize translational research, significant gaps exist between the different stages of the translational process due in large part to the compartmentalization of medical careers and disciplinary specialization. Applying human and social capital theories, the article develops tests hypotheses using a multilevel model and data from a network survey of researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago to explain production of translational innovation (dissemination, new clinical activity, and new intervention). Findings show that human capital variables are less important than social capital variables. Effects of cross-disciplinarity and translational network size are weak and only associated to one of the innovation types. By contrast, exchange of a variety of resources across the collaborative relationship is consistently important for the production innovations.

The Relationship Between Drinking Pattern, Social Capital, and Area-Deprivation: Findings From the Health Survey for England.

The purpose of this study was to establish the relationships between heavy episodic and drinking frequency with area-deprivation and social capital in England. Using the Health Survey for England 2002-2006, a nationally representative crosssectional survey (N = 54,422), multilevel logistic regression models with individuals nested within primary sampling units were carried out, stratified by sex, on (a) drinkers versus nondrinkers, (b) heavy episodic drinking versus drinking less (on the heaviest drinking day), and (c) fewer than 2 drink-free days versus at least 2 drink-free days. Key exposures were individual social capital variables (social trust, active civic participation, social support, neighborhood perception). Models adjusted for age, area-deprivation, economic activity, education, ethnicity, longstanding illness, marital status, and children in the household. Lack of social support (men: OR = 0.69, 95% CI [0.60, 0.79]; women: OR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.69, 0.86]) and no civic participation (men: OR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.67, 0.83]; women: OR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.68, 0.78]) decreased the odds of being a drinker versus a nondrinker. Among men, low social trust increased (OR = 1.16, 95% CI [1.04, 1.30]) and no civic participation decreased (OR = 0.81, 95% CI [0.74, 0.89]) the odds of heavy episodic drinking; among women, good overall neighborhood perception decreased the odds (OR = 0.91, 95% CI [0.86, 0.97]). Lack of social support (men: OR = 1.25, 95% CI [1.14, 1.36]; women: OR = 1.20, 95% CI [1.02, 1.40]) and no civic participation (men: OR = 1.25, 95% CI [1.14, 1.36]; women: OR = 1.37, 95% CI [1.25, 1.51]) increased the odds of having fewer than 2 drink-free days. Men and women living in the most deprived areas were less likely to drink, more likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking, and more likely to have at least 2 alcohol-free days, after social capital variables were adjusted for. Social capital is associated with drinking alcohol, and low forms is associated with heavy episodic and frequent drinking. Interventions to reduce heavy episodic consumption should be targeted at those with low social capital and those living in deprived areas where heavy drinking is normalized. Drink-free days recommended in guidelines could be further targeted at those lacking social support.

Social Capital and Poverty Reduction in Niger State, Nigeria: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Despite the numerous policy/strategy put in place by the Nigeria government since independent in other to reduce the poverty rate in the country, evidence shows that the rate of poverty is still on the increase. This paper looked at the impact of social capital on poverty reduction in Niger State, Nigeria. Based on the important and relevance of social capital to economic performance both at the micro and macro level, it is argued that it has an important role in poverty reduction. Social capital has seen as a missing link to poverty reduction. To this end, social capital has been depicted as an empirically elusive concept, and as the glue that holds society together. Using a set of household data generated from the administration of structured questionnaire to 479 households in Niger State. This paper aims to investigate the impact of social capital on poverty reduction in Niger State, Nigeria, using structural equation modelling approach (AMOS). The social capital variables considered are the one suggested by Putman which includes, community volunteerism, community organizational life, commitment in public affairs, informal cooperation and trust. The results obtained shows that apart from commitment in public affairs, all other variables were statistically significant, thus, fulfilling our a priori expectation that the more the people of the study area are engage in social capital activities the more they find themselves out of poverty. This result notwithstanding, policy measures that would continue to make social capital more relevant to poverty reduction in Niger State, Nigeria in particular and the world in general were suggested.

A research on the structural changes of supply networks for automotive parts

This research is to examine the influence of the supplier’s network embeddedness for automotive parts. The research model was based on the network theory with social capital variables such as relational social capital, structural social capital and structural holes. An empirical analysis was fulfilled to investigate the effect of the buyer–supplier networks under different conditions. Independent variables employed for the study are relational and structural social capital and structural holes, and the dependent variable is the performance of suppliers measured by ROA (return on asset). Data were gained by Korea Auto Industries Cooperative Association (KAICA) to test the hypothesis of this research. Regression analysis was adopted to find relationships between the variables. The results of this study show that both relational and structural social capital have a positive impact on supplier’s performance. Structural holes have positive influences on supplier performance as well. The interaction between rel...

Significance of social capital in collaborative management of natural resources in Sub-Saharan African rural communities: a qualitative meta-analysis

Social capital is regarded as a critical asset for attaining common goals that may otherwise be unattainable in community-based schemes. A better understanding of social capital dimensions influencing stakeholder participation in collaborative management of natural resources is vital to help policy-makers design programmes that would be more attractive to participants. This paper explores the role of community participation in natural resources management. It specifically examines the extent to which social capital can be instrumental in enhancing collaborative management of community conservation schemes in Sub-Saharan Africa. We adopted a systematic review of the literature on the role of participation in CBRM, which then forms the basis of a qualitative meta-analysis. The meta-analysis reveals several key social capital variables important for stakeholder participation in community-based resource management schemes including; fairness of rules, dispute resolution procedures, inclusivity, sociability and open dialogue.

The nature of sellers’ cyber credit in C2C e-commerce: the perspective of social capital

With the fast evolution of e-commerce, it is getting harder for traditional credit management systems to service online businesses with diversified needs in dynamic scenarios. This paper studies the nature of cyber credit from the perspective of social capital. We propose the credit assessment model using social capital variables extracted from the reputation system of an e-commerce platform and the associated online social network. In addition, we consider the dynamic and diversified effects of online reputation on sellers' cyber credit, and we verify the rationality of the credit assessment model through analyzing the relationship between cyber credit and social network variables. We take Alibaba C2C e-commerce market as our experimental study platform and use the social networking information from Sina's microblogging services. We find that social capital variables can be used to effectively measure the cyber credit of online sellers in C2C businesses.

Ethnic Composition and School Performance in the Secondary Education of Turkish Migrant Students in Seven Countries and 19 European Educational Systems

This article examines the effect of the ethnic composition on school performances in secondary education for Turkish students, using both cross-national and Swiss national PISA 2009 data. At the school level our results show no effect of the proportion of natives or the proportion of coethnics and a negative association between ethnic diversity (we employ a residualized score of diversity on the proportion of migrants) and math performances. Consequently, we find no evidence for social capital advantages and an indication of barriers. Finally, we find no association between social capital variables on national or educational system level and math performance.

The Effect of Strategic Thinking and Social Capital on Recognition of Entrepreneurial Opportunities among Rural Youths (Case Study: Kangavar County)

Extended Abstract 1. INTRODUCTION So far, different strategies have been proposed for rural development in different periods of time. Based on international experiences and the current conditions in Iran, this country needs to use a new approach to rural development. In this regard, rural entrepreneurship development strategy can be pointed out. There is a growing consensus that entrepreneurship is the process through which new economic activities and organizations come into existence. Keeping this in mind opportunities are central to this process. The literature about entrepreneurial opportunities has grown rapidly since 2000. Considering the earliest stages of development of new economic activities in villages, this marks bring about redirection of entrepreneurship studies. However, theoretical and empirical issues have been limited to important aspects and dimensions of the role of opportunities and their interaction with actors. But, entrepreneurial opportunity emerges from the nexus of individual aspirations with economic and social conditions perceived as favourable to create a new product or service, either in an existing market or a new one. Entrepreneurs discover, evaluate, and exploit opportunities, and rural areas are full of opportunities for rural youths. The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of strategic thinking and social capital on recognition of entrepreneurial opportunities among rural youth. This study also aims to investigate the demographic characteristics of rural youth, identify the situation of recognition entrepreneurial opportunities and their components, identify social capital components condition, and identify situation of strategic thinking components. 2. METHODOLOGY In this study, a quantitative method of descriptive-correlation was used. Research area was Kangavar County where four villages (Qazvineh, Dehlor, Fash, and Godin) were selected. Data was gathered through a questionnaire distributed between the rural youths whose age ranged between 20 and 35 (N= 9207). The sample size was determined to be 225 using Bartlett Table. In this study, systematic random sampling was used. Research variables were social capital, strategic thinking and identifying entrepreneurial opportunities. Social capital components consisted of social solidarity, socio-cultural values, social participation, social security, social trust, valuing life, acceptance of differences and social communications. Strategic thinking components were systematic thinking, conceptual thinking, cleverly opportunism and futurity. Moreover, indicators of identifying entrepreneurial opportunities were environmental competitive scanning, seeking pioneer opportunities and innovative strategy of creating opportunity. To measure these variables a five-point Likert scale (1= strongly disagree to 5= strongly agree) was used. In this study, data were analyzed using AMOS and SPSS softwares. The validity of instrument was determined by investigating the views of faculty members of Razi University. And the reliability of the questionnaire has been confirmed using pilot test and Cronbach's coefficient alpha. 3. DISCUSSION The findings showed that rural youths are weak in terms of identifying entrepreneurial opportunities. Results showed that the model fit is appropriate. The results showed that the social capital of rural youths and strategic thinking was moderate. Among the components of strategic thinking, futurism, and among the components of social capital, social participation had the highest priority among rural youths. Having used Amos software, Model fitting results revealed that, social capital and strategic thinking, respectively, predict and explain 54 and 49 percent of changes of entrepreneurial opportunities recognition. In the research, the final model showed that social capital variables and strategic thinking had positive impact on opportunity recognition. Accordingly, reinforcing components of social capital among rural youths can have a strong relationship with strategic thinking and increase this type of thinking. In general, considering that the characteristics of youth entrepreneurship, (including social capital and strategic thinking) will have an impact on youth entrepreneurship intentions, it is expected that rural youth entrepreneurship intentions and their entrepreneurial skills should be improved. Hence, promoting entrepreneurial characteristics of rural youths is very necessary for them to become entrepreneurs in the future and increase the possibility of influencing their productive employment. Based on the findings, it can be offered that different trainings, such as social skills, management skills, expressiveness skill, persuasion, and social adjustment should be available to the rural youths. 4. CONCLUSION The researchers of the present study found that variables such as appreciating the lives of rural youth, futurism, conceptual thinking and opportunism of rural youth had a direct relationship with entrepreneurial opportunities recognition. Rural researchers and planners can use the findings of this study to boost entrepreneurial activities and ventures among the rural youth. These results must, however, be treated with caution because this study is restricted in terms of subject into entrepreneurial opportunities recognition among rural youths of Kangavar County.