Structural Social Capital Research Articles

The relationship between personality, social capital, and life satisfaction ofelderly Koreans.

There are very few studies that explain the life satisfaction of the elderly by considering both internal factors such as personality and social capital. Therefore, this study analyzed the relationship between personality, social capital, and life satisfaction among elderly Koreans. This study analyzed the survey data on Koreans' happiness and quality of life 2019. Participants included a total of 1280 elderly adults aged 60-79 years. A multiple hierarchical regression analysis indicated that higher health status was related to higher life satisfaction, while neuroticism was negatively related to life satisfaction. Of particular note, increased structural and cognitive social capital were associated with higher life satisfaction. However, income, financial problems, and extraversion were not related to life satisfaction. The total explanatory amount of the regression model was 38.5%. These findings suggest that researchers and clinicians should consider a combination of factors associated with both personality and social capital when aiming to improve life satisfaction for the elderly.

Research on Influencing Factors and Internal Mechanism of International Entrepreneurship Based on Complex Network Algorithm

Entrepreneurs' social capital consists of relational dimension social capital, cognitive dimension social capital and structural dimension social capital. Relationship dimension social capital and cognitive dimension social capital have positive promotion effect on entrepreneurial survival performance, but have negative feedback effect on entrepreneurial success performance. From the investment stage, the investment intensity of Chinese venture capital institutions in the initial stage is obviously lower than that in other development stages, especially in the growth stage, which accounts for half of the venture capital. Although the entrepreneurial orientation and knowledge innovation ability of entrepreneurial individuals or teams are helpful to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of identifying and utilizing international entrepreneurial opportunities, it is necessary to choose an appropriate internationalization model according to the types of international entrepreneurial opportunities in order to achieve extraordinary international entrepreneurial performance. Based on the complex network algorithm, this paper analyzes the evolution of the concept of international entrepreneurship and its influencing factors, and reveals the internal mechanism of international entrepreneurship.

Family social capital and career advancement: the mediating role of family-to-work enrichment and the moderating role of perceived organizational politics

PurposeDrawing on social capital theory, this study investigated the effects of structural, cognitive and relational family social capital on employees' career advancement through the mechanism of family-to-work enrichment (FWE), taking perceived organizational politics (POP) as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 252 full-time employees working in public institutions and government departments in China, a collectivist cultural context. Hierarchical regression and path analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses.FindingsFWE significantly mediated the positive relationships between the three subtypes of family social capital and career advancement. The effects of structural and cognitive family social capital, but not relational family social capital (RFSC), on FWE were stronger when POP was low (vs high).Research limitations/implicationsFWE is arguably a promising mechanism for explaining the links between family social capital and career outcomes. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of the data, conclusions regarding causality remain limited.Practical implicationsFamily social capital may enrich the careers of employees in collectivist cultures. Managers should mitigate their organization's political climate to promote employees' career advancement.Originality/valueThis study contributes to career research by linking family social capital to career outcomes through the lens of FWE for the first time and by identifying organizational politics as an important moderator that can influence the dynamics of resource enrichment in a collectivist culture.

Effects of types and levels of social capital on emotional well-being for older people in Indonesia: A longitudinal study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different types and levels of social capital and emotional well-being in older adults in Indonesia by a longitudinal data. The fourth and the fifth waves of Indonesian Family Life Survey data were used for this study. The participants aged 60years or older who participated in both waves were included for analysis (n=1374). Depressive symptoms and happiness were used to assess emotional well-being. Cognitive social capital (neighborhood trust) and structural social capital (participating in arisan, community meetings, volunteers, village improvement programs, and religious activities) were the main independent variables. The generalized estimating equations model was used for analysis. Participation in arisan (B=-0.534) and attending religious activities (B=-0.591) were related to lower depressive symptoms, but the effect of religious activities would offset over time. Both a low or high social participation showed protective effects on depressive symptoms at the intercept and the time slope. Having higher neighborhood trust was related to more chance of feeling very happy (OR=1.518). Structural social capital is protective from depressive symptoms, while cognitive social capital contributes to happiness. Facilitating social participation and improving neighborhood trust through policies and programs is suggested to promote emotional well-being for older people.

Modeling residents' multidimensional social capital in China's neighborhood renewal projects: SEM and MIMIC approaches.

Neighborhood renewal is now an important approach to sustainable urban development in China. However, neighborhood renewal projects are often beset with social problems such as noncooperation from residents, which can be attributed to diverse interests and complex relationships among residents. However, there is little research on resident relations in China and intra-resident conflict. Based on social capital, this study provided a better understanding of resident relationships in neighborhood renewal in China. To this end, we developed a theoretical framework of residents' multidimensional social capital (structural, relational, and cognitive). Then, a survey was conducted to collect data from 590 residents across China who were experiencing or had experienced neighborhood renewal. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) modeling were used. The results revealed positive effects of structural social capital on relational and cognitive social capital, and the mediation role of relational social capital was demonstrated. We also tested the effects of differences in sociodemographic characteristics. Our findings verify the explanatory power of social capital regarding residents' complex relationships in neighborhood renewal in China. Implications for theory and policy are discussed. This study helps to improve our understanding of residents' social systems in neighborhood renewal and provides theoretical support for formulating neighborhood renewal policies in China and abroad.

Analyzing the Relationship among Social Capital, Dynamic Capability, and Farmers' Cooperative Performance Using Lightweight Deep Learning Model: A Case Study of Liaoning Province.

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between social capital and the performance of Farmers' Cooperatives (Cooperatives) and explore the internal mechanism of social capital affecting the performance of Cooperatives. This work selects two dimensions: cognitive social capital (CSC) and structural social capital (SSC), as indexes to measure the social capital of Cooperatives. An analytical framework is proposed: "Social capital-Dynamic capabilities-Organizational performance." First, according to the characteristics of Cooperatives, it determines the most appropriate index values and preprocesses the original data. Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) 25.0 software are used for factor analysis. A financial performance evaluation model of Cooperatives based on backpropagation neural network (BPNN) is constructed. Then, based on the survey data of 212 Cooperatives in Liaoning Province, the structural equation model (SEM) is used to test the interaction path between "Social capital-Dynamic capacity-Organizational performance." The results show that SSC's standardized regression coefficients (SRCs) on Cooperatives' economic benefits and member satisfaction are 0.208 and 0.095, respectively, significant at 1%. The actual case analysis concludes that the larger the scale of the structural network embedded in Cooperatives is, the more conducive it is to obtaining extensive resources. As such, Cooperatives can absorb the advanced experience and compensate for the weakness of lack of internal resources and experience. The SRC of CSC on Cooperatives' economic benefits is 0.336, and the P value is 0.204, indicating an insignificant impact of CSC on Cooperatives' economic benefits. This work considers environmental variability, uses dynamic capacity as an independent variable, opens the "black box" between social capital and the performance of Cooperatives, and reveals the intermediate path between the two.

Strengthening social capital in the Sri Lankan population: A qualitative exploration of factors driving the mothers' support groups initiative during economic crisis.

Social capital is a concept that has been identified to improve health outcomes in many populations. Due to COVID-19 and many other factors, Sri Lanka faced a massive economic crisis that affected the nutrition of communities. Many community engagement initiatives have begun to promote the country's nutrition during the worst-hit years. The Mothers' Support Groups initiative is one of the existing community engagement initiatives that is well known for strengthening community social capital. This article discusses how the Mothers' Support Groups (MSG) initiative in Sri Lanka contributed to improving social capital in Sri Lanka during the economic crisis, focusing on nutrition. We conducted a case study on the activities undertaken by mothers' support groups in view of how they focused on social capital. We selected all activities presented by districts that improved social capital related to nutrition promotion captured in the YouTube video stream. We analyzed these qualitative data to identify the main themes related to social capital and nutritional promotion. Two coders transcribed the video recordings. We analyzed the data using the iterative thematic inquiry (ITI) method and initially assessed beliefs about concepts, building new beliefs through encounters with data, listing tentative themes, and evaluating themes through coding. Six major themes were identified (that social capital had been strengthened to promote nutrition): awareness creation of nutrition, home gardening promotion, promoting livestock farming, minimizing food waste, improving the home economy, and psychosocial health promotion. The most common forms of social capital encountered in these themes were bonding, bridging, and linking. Furthermore, strengthening structural social capital is more prominent than strengthening cognitive social capital. Social capital can improve nutritional status during crises. Activities that can be used to achieve this vary from simple awareness creation among communities to more advanced psychosocial health promotion. Overall, social capital contributed to the community development aspect of health promotion to a greater extent.

Knowledge Sharing Model Based on Individual and Organizational Factors Related to Faculty Members of University

This study presents the knowledge-sharing model based on individual and organizational factors related to faculty members. To achieve this goal, individual and organizational factors were presented through qualitative research in the form of open codes, axial, and selective observations; then, the final model was obtained using a structural equation model. Participants included 1,719 faculty members of the university in Iran. The samples related to the qualitative survey included 25 faculty members and the samples for the quantitative survey included 326 faculty members selected by multistage cluster sampling. A 72-item questionnaire was used to measure the quantitative variables. The results showed that the status of knowledge sharing is moderate in universities. Individual factors influencing knowledge sharing included the sharing of educational materials, perception, confidence and knowledge self-efficiency, and organizational factors influencing knowledge sharing included structural social capital, cognitive social capital, social capital relations, organizational communication, organizational structure, organizational culture, IT infrastructure and systems of rewards. Finally, it was found that the contribution of individual factors on knowledge sharing was more than organizational factors; therefore, a model was presented in which the contribution of individual and organizational factors was determined.

Life satisfaction and social capital in different age groups in Finland: Data from the European Values Study

The aim of the study is to explore age and language group differences in social capital and life satisfaction, and their associated factors, among Finnish and Swedish speakers in Finland. Data were derived from the European Values Study (EVS), and the sample included 2514 individuals aged 18 years and older. Various regression-based methods were used in the analyses. The results indicate that there are significant differences in social capital between Finnish and Swedish speakers but not in life satisfaction. Nevertheless, a positive association between volunteering and life satisfaction was observed for Finnish speakers. The findings corroborate that structural and cognitive social capital are associated with higher life satisfaction and highlight the potential for promoting well-being in younger and older adults through being actively engaged in and feeling connected to a community. Moreover, special attention should be given to young adults who display the lowest levels of life satisfaction and social capital.

Online or offline? The impact of environmental knowledge acquisition on environmental behavior of Chinese farmers based on social capital perspective

With the development of mobile internet, Chinese farmers have started to access diversified information through social media, on one hand, based on breadth of information. On the other hand, as most farmers still live in rural areas, their socio-economic characteristics and lifestyles are in homogeneous acquaintance social network relationships, i.e. interpersonal interactions in offline homogeneous networks are still considered as the way for farmers to access homogeneous information (breadth of information depth). Based on social capital theory, social networks are structural social capital where trust and reciprocity are known as a relational social capital. Further, this study divides structural social capital into connective social capital (social media access to information) and bonding social capital (offline interpersonal interaction access to information) based on the differences in their information sources. The empirical study finds that structural social capital has a positive impact on farmers’ environmental knowledge acquisition which influences their environmental behavior. In addition, relational social capital (trust and reciprocity) plays a mediating role in the influence of structural social capital on farmers’ environmental behavior.

Toward SME digital transformation in the supply chain context: the role of structural social and human capital

PurposeDigital transformation (DT) and supply chain resilience have received increasing attention. Structural social capital (SSC) and human capital (HC) have recently been identified as strategic resources for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While the significant role of entrepreneurial competencies (ECs), SME innovativeness (SMI) and technology adoption (TA) in driving business performance have been partially researched, no studies have simultaneously examined the effect of these resources and capabilities on SME business performance growth (BPG) under the lenses of a resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities (DCs) as well as in the context of DT. This study aims to clarify these unclear relationships.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts established theoretical lenses, a mixed-methods approach and structural equation modeling (SEM) using a sample of 371 respondents who are top and middle SME managers in Vietnam.FindingsThe study discovers the significant and insignificant relationships between HC, SSC, ECs, SMI, TA and BPG besides providing a new measurement and reconciling existing measurements for the DT context. Some implications for driving SMEs' DT are also suggested.Originality/valueThis study is the first to thoroughly examine the effect of HC and SSC on SMEs' BPG through the mediating role of ECs, SMI and TA under RBV and DCs lenses in the DT context. The investigation is conducted in an emerging market, where DT implementation is in the process of being learned and experimented upon.

Individual-level social capital is associated with depressive symptoms among middle-aged community dwellers in rural Vietnam: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesThere has been comparatively little research on the association between social capital and depressive symptoms in low- and middle-income countries. To address this deficit this study examined the association among...

Social Capital and Performance of Manufacturing MSMEs in Kenya

Sustained growth and development of economies is mainly attributed to the manufacturing sector, and is often the differentiator between developed and developing countries. In Kenya, the sector has played a crucial role, with a contribution of 10% to gross domestic product for the duration from 2008 to 2014. Statistics show that in 2017, 2018 and 2019, the contribution deteriorated to 8.4%, 7.7% and 7.54% respectively, which implies possible deindustrialization. The government’s goal of achieving a robust manufacturing sector through Big Four Agenda may not be fruitful if this trend continues. Informed by these trends, the study sought to establish the connection between social capital and firm performance among the micro, small and medium manufacturing enterprises. Keys among the existing theories applied in the study are social capital theory and behavioral theory of the firm. The sample size was 384 licensed manufacturing businesses operating within Nairobi City County, derived from a population of 61,931. The study applied descriptive and explanatory research designs. Primary data was collected, and analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The outcomes showed that relational and cognitive social capital had a positive and significant effect on performance of micro, small and medium manufacturing ventures, whereas structural social capital was noted to have a significant effect. This study recommends that the firms’ management taps into additional and diverse networks to drive innovation, and subsequently create a competitive edge for their firms.

The Impact of Social Capital on Rural Residents’ Medical Service Utilization in China—An Empirical Study Based on CFPS Data

Based on CFPS data, the article analyzes the impact of social capital on the utilization of medical services by rural residents in China using binary logit and multinomial logit models. The social capital includes two dimensions: cognitive social capital and structural social capital, and the indicators of medical service utilization are "whether to seek medical treatment when sick" and "choice of medical institution". This paper concludes that: (1) among the cognitive social capital, special trust and religious beliefs have a significant positive influence on whether rural residents choose to seek medical treatment when they are sick; (2) among the structural social capital, social participation has a significant positive influence on choice of medical institution, and social network has a significant positive influence on the choice of township health center, specialty hospital, and general hospital. According to the empirical results, this paper proposes the following suggestions. The trust mechanism of rural society should be reconstructed, the positive role of religious beliefs should be given full play, the healthy development of social networks should be promoted, and the rural social organizations should be fostered and developed.

Capital endowment, health information literacy and healthy dietary behaviors: Evidence from a survey of Chinese rural residents

Unhealthy diets threaten people’s health and this is exacerbated by capital inequality. Drawing on Bourdieu’s capital theory, this study constructs a model of residents’ healthy diet decision to analyze the effects of capital endowment and health information literacy on rural residents’ healthy dietary behaviors in China. Based on a dataset of 899 rural residents from 16 prefecture cities in Shandong Province in 2022, confirmatory factor analysis and path hypothesis test of capital endowment and health information literacy were conducted using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). We examined the mediating effect of health information literacy, tested the generalizability of the healthy diet decision model by Multi-Group analysis, and examined the importance ranking of model variables by Importance-Performance map analysis. Economic capital, cultural capital, cognitive social capital, and health information literacy had a significant positive correlation with healthy dietary behaviors, among which cognitive social capital had the strongest correlation, while structural social capital did not have a significant correlation. In addition to directly influencing rural residents’ healthy dietary behaviors, health information literacy also played a mediating effect in residents’ healthy diet decision model. Our healthy diet decision model had certain generalization ability. The government and other related parties should expand the channels for rural residents to obtain cognitive social capital to improve the accessibility of cognitive social capital for rural residents and improve their ability to obtain, identify and apply health information by means of publicity and education.

Social Capital and Vaccination: A Case Study of Measles Vaccination Among Nine–Months–Old Children in Ethiopia

A couple of studies in Ethiopia have explored the impacts of social capital on measles vaccinations. However, the basic relationship between social capital and measles vaccination remains unexplained. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of caregivers’ structural social capital on measles vaccinations among nine-month-old infants in Ethiopia. The 2011 first round worldwide Young Lives Survey dataset for Ethiopia was utilized, and the situation of 1652 children living with a mother/father was analyzed through the clustered sample and logistic regression. Results show that caregivers’ social interaction and membership (professional union, political, religious and funeral/credit groups), social support (from political pioneers, government officials, charitable NGOs, family/relatives, and friends), and collective activities (which they join along with other family units, and talk to local authorities) were significantly positively associated with measles vaccination at a 0.05 significance level after adjusting for covariates. Any future attempts to advance measles vaccination status in Ethiopia without understanding caregivers’ social group enrolment, social support, and collective activity are likely to be unsuccessful.

Community social capital and the health-related quality of life among empty-nest elderly in western China: moderating effect of living arrangements

Background:At present, the empty nest phenomenon is becoming more and more serious in the world, especially in China, and its health problems deserve attention. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the impact of community social capital on the health-related quality of life of empty-nest elderly.Methods:The study used data collected from a survey study conducted between 2018 and 2019 in Sichuan province, China, with 638 empty-nest elderly meeting our criteria. SF-12 scale and self-made social capital scale were used to evaluate the health-related quality of life and community social capital of empty-nest elderly. Through descriptive statistical analysis, bivariate analysis and hierarchical multiple regression model, this study analyzes the relationship between community social capital and health-related quality of life of empty-nest elderly. Considering the role of living arrangements, this study further uses the simple effect analysis method to explore the moderating role of living arrangements.Results:After controlling the relevant variables, the cognitive social capital (CSC) of empty-nest elderly had a positive relationship with the physical health summary (PCS) (β = 0.188, p＜0.001) and mental health summary (MCS) (β = 0.205, p＜0.001). No effect of structural social capital on quality of life was found as a result. Living arrangements played a moderation effect on the relationship between CSC and MCS (β=-2.018, p＜0.05). The MCS score of high CSC group (55.516 ± 0.757) was significantly higher than that of low CSC group (49.383 ± 0.722).Conclusion:The results suggest empty-nest elderly has poorer physical health and weaker structural social capital, while the cognitive social capital has a greater positive impact on their quality of life. Targeted interventions to enhance community social capital may be beneficial to improve health status of this vulnerable population.

The Role of Social Capital in Building Knowledge Sharing and Innovative Work Behavior in Holding Company

To compete in a dynamic environment, companies must continuously innovate. Therefore, companies need to encourage their employees to have innovative behavior. This study examined the effect of structural, cognitive, and relational social capital on innovative work behavior, using knowledge sharing as mediating variable. This study uses quantitative methods, by surveying 328 employees of holding companies. The data is processed using Partial Least Square. The results point out a positive and significant effect of cognitive and relational social capital on knowledge sharing and knowledge sharing on innovative work behavior.

Social Capital, Organizational Innovation and Performance of Manufacturing MSMEs in Kenya

Sustained growth and development of economies is mainly attributed to the manufacturing sector, and is often the differentiator between developed and developing countries. In Kenya, the sector has played a crucial role, with a contribution of 10% to gross domestic product for the duration 2008 to 2014. Statistics show that in 2017, 2018 and 2019, the contribution deteriorated to 8.4%, 7.7% and 7.54% respectively, which implies possible de-industrialization. The government’s goal of achieving a robust manufacturing sector through Big Four Agenda may not be fruitful if this trend continues. Informed by the trends, the study sought to establish the mediating role of organizational innovation on the connection between social capital and firm performance among the micro, small and medium manufacturing enterprises. The study is based on existing theories namely social capital theory, behavioral theory of the firm, and Schumpeter theory of innovation. The sample size was 384 licensed manufacturing businesses operating within Nairobi City County, derived from a population of 61,931. The study applied descriptive and explanatory research designs. Primary data was collected and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that relational and cognitive social capital positively and significantly predicted the performance of micro, small and medium manufacturing enterprises, whereas structural social capital was noted to have a significant effect. The mediating effect of organizational innovation was partial on the relationship between social capital and performance of micro, small and medium manufacturing enterprises. This study recommends that the firms’ management taps into additional and diverse networks to drive innovation and subsequently create a competitive edge for their firms.

Research on the social capital, knowledge quality and product innovation performance of knowledge-intensive firms in China.

Given the importance of social capital for the success of knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs), scholars have investigated how social capital promotes product innovation through knowledge transfer. However, in contrast to the quantity of transferred knowledge, the role of knowledge quality has been largely ignored. Drawing on the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm, this study explores the influences of structural, relational, and cognitive social capital on product innovation and the mediating role of knowledge quality. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted from firm executives and core members of R&D department and data of 159 Chinese KIFs were obtained. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used for hypotheses testing. The results reveal that relational capital and cognitive capital have positive effects on product innovation performance, which are mediated by knowledge quality. However, the effect of structural social capital on knowledge quality is not significant. The results contribute to literature on firm innovation by examining how social capital indirectly affects product innovation performance through the quality of transferred knowledge. Moreover, the conclusions can help top management of KIFs to design more effective informal knowledge management approaches according to differentiated effects of three types of social capital on knowledge quality.