Literature Review: Social Capital and SMEs

Author(s):  
Andrea Werner ◽  
Laura J. Spence
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 534
Author(s):  
Isabel Saz-Gil ◽  
Ignacio Bretos ◽  
Millán Díaz-Foncea

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


Mousaion ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki Lawal

This paper examines academic library services to at-risk students in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). It aims to explore theoretical approaches that can direct more targeted support and service models as an intervention for students who are at risk of failure. The paper specifically analyses Nan Lin’s concept of social capital theory with its particular emphasis on social network analysis. The study which directed this paper, employed a conceptual analysis as a methodology by which the literature review was used as a basis for analysing the research questions of the paper. Outcomes from the analysis indicate that Lin’s concept of social capital theory has the potential to provide a method for measuring social capital that can be assessed against information seeking outcomes. Recommendations suggest the importance of the theory as a methodological tool for investigating relationships between individuals and their social contexts, which could also be adopted by academic libraries in higher education to enhance students’ learning outcomes and educational experience in the 4IR.


2016 ◽  
pp. 1921-1934
Author(s):  
Ahmad Vazehi Ashtiani ◽  
Sharmila Jayasingam

This conceptual paper proposes social capital as a possible moderator of the relationship between commonly identified knowledge sharing enablers in the literature and knowledge sharing (KS). A literature review was carried out to determine the contextual influence of the level of social capital within communities of practice (CoPs). Propositions were developed based on a review of past studies addressing KS enablers and KS. The literature review revealed that prior studies built on resource-based theory (RBT) and knowledge-based view of the firm (KBV) focused on organizational enablers of KS without any concern for the contextual influence such as the level of social capital of CoPs. Further analysis indicated that social capital could possibly moderate the impact of commonly identified KS enablers. These insights are presented as propositions in this conceptual paper. This paper addresses a gap in the area of KS. It questions the results of past studies and proposes the needs to consider the level of social capital when identifying appropriate KS enablers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Logar

Opredelitve in pristopi k preučevanju socialnega kapitala so v znanstvenih vedah (na primer geografiji, sociologiji, zgodovini, politologiji, antropologiji) raznoliki in celo protislovni, koncept socialnega kapitala pa je zato kritiziran zaradi teoretske nekonsistentnosti. Koncept socialnega kapitala se kot predmet preučevanja različnih znanstvenih ved nekritično in brez utemeljitev označuje kot »interdisciplinarni«. Prispevek z namenom osvetlitve interdisciplinarnosti koncepta, vsebinsko analizira 17 opredelitev socialnega kapitala. Z vsebinsko analizo je prepoznanih šest gradnikov socialnega kapitala, ki so med seboj tesno prepleteni in ne omogočajo enoznačne določitve pomenskega jedra. Opisani so raziskovalni pristopi iz geografije in sorodnih ved, ki so zasnovani na teh opredelitvah. Pristopi odsevajo, da se socialni kapital krovno uporablja kot hevristični model za teoretsko, metodološko in epistemološko sicer zelo raznolike raziskave. Raziskav, ki bi bile zasnovane primerjalno, primanjkuje, prezrto pa je tudi preučevanje na lokalni ravni. Koncept socialnega kapitala je razširjen v številnih znanstvenih vedah, vendar pa so raziskave z interdisciplinarno zasnovo dokaj maloštevilne. //   The definitions and research approaches of the social capital are diverse and even contradictory in the scientific disciplines (i.e. geography, sociology, history, political sciences, anthropology). The concept of social capital as a research object of various scientific disciplines is often criticized due to its theoretical inconsistency and labelled as an interdisciplinary approach uncritically and without any references in the scientific literature. Paper aims to enlighten interdisciplinarity of concept through 17 definitions of social capital, which are assembled through literature review. The content analysis points out six building blocks of social capital, which are tightly connected; there is no simple identification of the semantic core of definitions. The research approaches in geography and related disciplines, which are conceptualized based on those definitions, are also described. The research approaches reflect a diversity, as social capital is used as a heuristic model for theoretical, methodological and epistemological diverse researches. Through the literature review, lack of comparative researches on a local level is identified. The concept of social capital is extended in many disciplines, but there are only a few interdisciplinary conceptualized researches.


Author(s):  
Gülşah Koç ◽  
Bryan Christiansen

This chapter examines the potential influence of cultural indoctrination (CI) on architectural style worldwide. Based on an encompassing literature review, this chapter focuses on the mediator of religion among the seven factors which are included in the established conceptual framework for CI; namely, Child Development, Cultural Institutionalization, Cultural Intelligence, Social Learning Theory, Religion, Social Capital, and Values Orientation Theory (VOT). The conceptual framework is presented for potential future application in architectural style and practice.


Author(s):  
Mustapha Bengrich ◽  
Adil Azzahidi ◽  
Amina Omrane

In today's uncertain environment, companies should develop solutions to meet the global competition trends and the rapidly changing customer demands. In fact, to gain a competitive advantage, organizations should be equipped with knowledge, which is considered as an essential resource, rather than with traditional resources, such as durable assets or material/technical resources. In other words, investing in intangible assets that are difficult to imitate, such as social capital, promotes dissemination and exchange of accessible knowledge used by organizations. Such knowledge management processes enable firms to enhance their capacity of innovation as well as their creativity skills. The objective is therefore to develop a literature review that helps enrich and in-depth understanding the dynamics of social capital within an industrial cluster (i.e., a common geographical area).


Author(s):  
Jia Wang ◽  
Melika Shirmohammadi

The value of mentoring for career development is widely recognized by researchers and practitioners. For women, being mentored is particularly valuable for their career growth. However, the reality is that professional women continue to encounter challenges men do not, both in finding mentors and in building healthy mentoring relationships. In this chapter, the authors examine how e-mentoring can be used as an alternative tool to address some of the challenges facing women in mentoring relationships and to assist them with their career progression. They conduct an integrative literature review to identify research on e-mentoring in the context of women's career development, and they identify trends in current e-mentoring research and make recommendations for improving e-mentoring practice. The chapter concludes with directions for future research on e-mentoring.


Author(s):  
M Kamrul Islam ◽  
Juan Merlo ◽  
Ichiro Kawachi ◽  
Martin Lindström ◽  
Ulf-G Gerdtham

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