scholarly journals Networking behaviour, graduate employability: a social capital perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saša Batistic ◽  
Alex Tymon
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Career Guidance ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Employability ◽  
Graduate Employability

Purpose Drawing on the overarching framework of social capital theory, the purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically examine networking behaviour and employability within the higher education context. Design/methodology/approach In a sample of 376 full-time business students the authors measured perceived employability, networking behaviour, access to information and resources and job-search learning goal orientation (JSLGO). Findings The authors found networking is related to increased internal and external perceived employability by boosting access to information and resources. The results also demonstrate that networking is positively related to access to information and resources for low and high JSLGO, the relationship being stronger for those with higher levels. Research limitations/implications The results provide an enriched view of individual networking behaviour by offering an indirect model of networking outcomes and to the graduate employability and social capital literatures. Practical implications The findings may provide focus for individuals concerned with enhancing their employability and those involved in supporting career guidance. Originality/value Obvious beneficiaries are students, for whom employment is a key concern, and universities who face increasing pressure to enhance graduate employability whilst resources to do so are diminishing. To this end the authors highlight activities that may develop networking behaviours and JSLGO.

scholarly journals Reading on and between the lines: risk identification in collaborative and adversarial buyer–supplier relationships

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiyi Fan ◽  
Mark Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Supplier Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Signalling Theory ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how supply chain risks can be identified in both collaborative and adversarial buyer–supplier relationships (BSRs). Design/methodology/approach This research includes a multiple-case study involving ten Chinese manufacturers with two informants per organisation. Data have been interpreted from a multi-level social capital perspective (i.e. from both an individual and organisational level), supplemented by signalling theory. Findings Buyers use different risk identification strategies or apply the same strategy in different ways according to the BSR type. The impact of organisational social capital on risk identification is contingent upon the degree to which individual social capital is deployed in a way that benefits an individual’s own agenda versus that of the organisation. Signalling theory generally complements social capital theory and helps further understand how buyers can identify risks, especially in adversarial BSRs, e.g. by using indirect signals from suppliers or other supply chain actors to “read between the lines” and anticipate risks. Research limitations/implications Data collection is focussed on China and is from the buyer side only. Future research could explore other contexts and include the supplier perspective. Practical implications The types of relationships that are developed by buyers with their supply chain partners at an organisational and an individual level have implications for risk exposure and how risks can be identified. The multi-level analysis highlights how strategies such as employee rotation and retention can be deployed to support risk identification. Originality/value Much of the extant literature on supply chain risk management is focussed on risk mitigation, whereas risk identification is under-represented. A unique case-based insight is provided into risk identification in different types of BSRs by using a multi-level social capital approach complemented by signalling theory.

Childhood-onset disability, strong ties and employment quality

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Baldridge ◽  
Alison M. Konrad ◽  
Mark E. Moore ◽  
Yang Yang
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Family Of Origin ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Childhood Onset ◽  
Hours Worked ◽  
Strong Ties ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Skill Utilization ◽  
Employment Quality ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Persons with childhood-onset disabilities are among the most marginalized populations, often unemployed or underemployment in jobs providing neither adequate hours for financial self-sufficiency nor fulfillment through skill-utilization. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which social capital in the form of strong ties with family and friends is associated with enhanced employment outcomes for persons with childhood-onset disabilities. Design/methodology/approach Questioning the current theoretical consensus that strong social ties are unimportant to employment quality, the authors draw on disability research and opportunity, motivation and ability social capital theory to propose a model of the impact of strong ties with family and friends on paid-work-hours and skill-utilization as well as the potential moderating role of gender and disability severity. The authors then test this model using data from 1,380 people with childhood-onset disabilities and OLS regression analysis. Findings As theorized, family-of-origin-size is positively associated with hours worked. Family-of-origin-size is also associated with having more close friends and children. These strong ties, in turn, are positively associated with hours worked. The impact of having more children on hours worked and skill-utilization, however, is positive for men but non-significant for women. Originality/value This study breaks new ground by focusing on the association between strong ties with family and friends and employment quality for people with childhood-onset disabilities – a marginalized and understudied group. Findings further indicate the particular vulnerability of women with disabilities.

The impact of relationship between IT staff and users on employee outcomes of IT users

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 986-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Jia ◽  
Dianne Hall ◽  
Zhijun Yan ◽  
Junjiang Liu ◽  
Terry Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Job Performance ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Employee Outcomes ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Poor Relationship

Purpose Firms invest much money in information technology (IT) since IT support has been recognized as a critical enabler of employee outcomes. However, the value obtained by organizations and their employees is not always as much as they anticipated because of, at least partly, a poor relationship between IT staff and users. The purpose of this paper is to apply the social capital theory to examine relationship management between IT and business and explores mechanisms through which social capital between IT staff and users affect users’ employee outcomes, including job satisfaction and job performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on social capital theory and past literature, the researchers propose a research model and explore the effect of social capital on knowledge sharing, IT users’ perceived service quality, job satisfaction and ultimately job performance. Based on a survey of 289 respondents, this study applies the partial least square technique to test the research model. Findings Mediation test was performed to explore the effect mechanisms of social capital on employee outcomes, and the results indicate that three dimensions of social capital affect IT users’ job satisfaction and job performance in different approaches. Originality/value This study uses social capital theory to direct how to improve the poor relationship between IT staff and users and provides a useful insight into the mechanisms through which three dimensions of social capital improve users’ job satisfaction and job performance.

Social capital affects job performance through social media

2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-922
Author(s):  
Yung-Shen Yen ◽  
Mei-Chun Chen ◽  
Chun-Hsiung Su
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Job Performance ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bonding Social Capital ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
Female Workers ◽  
Male Workers

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of social capital on job performance when workers interact with coworkers through social media in organizations.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling was conducted, and a sample of 230 workers in Taiwan was investigated.FindingsThis study found that bonding social capital has a greater impact on job performance than bridging social capital for interactions among coworkers through social media in organizations. Moreover, bridging social capital affects job performance more strongly for male workers than for female workers, but bonding social capital affects job performance more strongly for female workers than for male workers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extended social capital theory by adding the mediating effects of job satisfaction and relational satisfaction and the moderating effect of gender into the model.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that company managers need to train workers how to use social media to appropriate their affordances and consider the work team relationship to position adequate strategies for male and female workers.Originality/valueThis study advances the previous knowledge of social capital theory for workers interacting with coworkers through social media in organizations.

Bridging the gap between supply chain risk management and strategic technology partnering capabilities: insights from social capital theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 278-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irène Kilubi ◽  
Helen Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Supply Chain Risk Management ◽  
Supply Chain Risk ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose As companies seek to continually innovate to remain globally competitive, they also need to be mindful of the impact of the potential associated supply chain risks. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the causal nexus of relationships linking supply chain risk management (SCRM) and strategic technology partnering (STP) capabilities (i.e. organizational capabilities, technological and innovative capabilities, learning and exploitation capabilities, complementary capabilities and network and partnership capabilities) as identified by Kilubi (2016). Design/methodology/approach The authors investigate STP capabilities that may positively influence SCRM and in turn foster organizational performance. By using conceptual theory building, the authors create a conceptual framework and use it to guide future investigation through research propositions. Social capital theory serves as the theoretical background. Findings Five STP capabilities have been identified as positive mediators for the relationship between SCRM and organizational performance, in particular flexibility and responsiveness. Originality/value This paper focuses on bridging the gap and identifying commonalities between two principal research disciplines, STP and SCRM, examining how these can be used to assist in the controlling and management of future risks. This study contributes to the ongoing development of SCRM and STP by integrating insights from social capital theory, supply chain management and strategic management.

How to increase social capital of organizations: identifying the role of informal learning behaviors

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nidheesh Joseph ◽  
Abhishek Totawar
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Learning Behaviors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Capability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of informal learning behaviors in increasing the social capital of organizations. The paper provides a brief overview of social capital and informal learning and proposes to interlink them for increasing knowledge capability of organizations. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a review of social capital theory and informal learning behaviors, this article presents a conceptual approach for practitioners to deploy informal learning behaviors to increase social capital and subsequently, the knowledge capability of their organizations. Findings With the fast-changing global business scenario and limited availability of capital to invest in formal training behaviors, organizations continue to face difficulties in increasing their knowledge capability. This article suggests a simple, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy method of employing informal learning behaviors to build and sustain social capital and through it the knowledge capabilities of organizations. Originality/value There is currently limited research into the applicability of using informal learning behaviors in the field of social capital and knowledge capability building.

Exploring the family effect on firm performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 898-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosra Mani ◽  
Lassaad Lakhal
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Cognitive Dimension ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how internal social capital – as a part of the familiness resources– affects family firm performance. The social capital theory states that internal social capital within family businesses is composed of three dimensions: the structural dimension, the relational dimension, and the cognitive dimension. The aim of the paper is to study the relationship between each dimension of internal social capital and family firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an empirical investigation which is based on a sample of 114 Tunisian family firms. Findings – Results demonstrate that the structural and relational dimensions are positively associated with financial and non-financial family firm’s performance. However, the cognitive dimension has a significant positive effect on financial performance but not on non-financial family firm performance. Originality/value – The proposed model aims to test the direct effect of internal social capital dimensions on financial and non-financial family firm’s performance. Besides, there is a lack of empirical evidence aiming at understanding the impact of structural, cognitive and relational social capital on the performance of family firms.

Social capital and export performance within exporter-intermediary relationships

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Carlos Pinho
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Export Performance ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dyadic Relationship ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper draw insights from social capital theory and examines the synergistic effect of several constructs on export performance within the context of exporter–intermediary relationships. Specifically, it assumes that social capital and the set of resources embedded therein strongly influence the extent to which both commitment and cooperation occur, and how these, in turn, impact on export performance. Design/methodology/approach Following a quantitative methodological approach, a survey is applied to a sample of small and medium-sized enterprise exporters, to empirically test the proposed conceptual model. Partial least squares structural equation modeling is used to test the empirical model. Findings The findings reveal that there is a positive and direct impact of social capital on export performance. Results also confirm that the presence of high social capital between exporters and intermediaries affects both high commitment and high cooperation. The study also confirms the mediation effect of cooperation in the relationship between social capital and export performance. Practical implications One possible shortfall of this research relates to the fact that this analysis only incorporates the view of one actor, the view of exporter firms. This limitation could open a rewarding direction for future research, which would be to analyze the view of both sides in a dyadic relationship. Originality/value This paper presents the original approach of looking at the relational antecedents of export performance.

Explaining knowledge sharing with social capital theory in information systems development projects

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. 883-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyoon Lee ◽  
Jun-Gi Park ◽  
Jungwoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Information Systems Development ◽  
Communication Effectiveness ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – Owing to their complex and knowledge-intensive nature, information systems development (ISD) projects require effective collaboration between business and technology experts. In this regard, social capital theory may provide a valuable framework and insight into explaining knowledge sharing behavior in an ISD context. The purpose of this paper is to expand the theory of knowledge sharing as developed thus far in the ISD project context using the full-blown team social capital theory. Design/methodology/approach – The expertise and communication effectiveness of business and technology professionals were posited as antecedents of team social capital and knowledge sharing. The research model for this study integrates expertise, communication, knowledge sharing, social capital, and team performance into a structural equation modeling. The research model was empirically tested with a data set from business and technology professional pairs collected from 115 ISD project teams. Findings – The results indicated that team social capital and knowledge sharing have significant influences on team performance. Team social capital appears to have a stronger influence on knowledge sharing than business and technology expertise. Communication effectiveness and technology expertise are important antecedents to raise team social capital. Originality/value – In this study, the social capital theory is applied toward enhancing the theory of knowledge sharing in ISD project teams. General social capital construct and measures are adopted and modified into the team social capital measures and validated empirically.

The effects of innovative, consumer and social characteristics on willingness to try nano-foods

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 653-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsin Hsin Chang ◽  
Ching Ying Huang ◽  
Chen Su Fu ◽  
Ming Tse Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Application ◽  
Subjective Perceptions ◽  
Perceived Benefit ◽  
The Social

Purpose By integrating the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, technology acceptance model (TAM), and social capital theory, the purpose of this paper is to: develop a model of consumer behavior and trial willingness toward nano-foods from product, consumer, and social perspectives; examine the effects of innovative features, consumer characteristics, and trust in authority on subjective perceptions (perceived trustworthiness and perceived benefit) as well as the social influence on attitudes toward nano-foods and trial willingness; examine the moderating role of product uncertainty on the relationship between these characteristics and subjective perceptions; and examine the effect of perceived benefit on perceived trustworthiness. Design/methodology/approach The results of the structural equation model (SEM), with nano-food knowledge data collected from 431 respondents, supported the research model and revealed the main effects hypothesized in this study and the moderating effect of product uncertainty. Simple slope analysis was further adopted to test the significant moderating effects. Findings The SEM results indicated that innovative characteristics (relative advantage, lack of observability, and novelty), consumer characteristics (perceived technology application), and social characteristics (trust in authority) affect perceived trustworthiness or perceived benefit. Social influence also has a direct effect on attitude toward nano-foods and trial willingness. Product uncertainty significantly moderates the relationship between characteristics (relative advantage and perceived technology application) and subjective perceptions (perceived trustworthiness and perceived benefit). Research limitations/implications With increasing numbers and kinds of nanotechnology products now being developed and sold, it is important to go further to determine consumer perceptions and attitudes toward these. This study, thus, applied the DOI, TAM, and social capital theory to examine this issue. However, other theories might also be used to carry out research from other perspectives. This study should, thus, be seen as preliminary, and it is hoped that more works will discuss consumer attitudes toward nanotechnology products in the future. Practical implications When a new nano-food is introduced, the current study suggests that food manufacturers use the description on the package as a communicative tool. Detailing the advantages of nano-foods on food packages might be a useful way to enhance trial willingness and to reduce the fears and insecurities related to the use of nano-related products. In addition, if food manufacturers could cooperate with organizations or individuals seen as having some authority in this area (e.g. nanotechnology researchers) in order to disseminate accurate information about nanotechnology and related food products, this might be an effective way to increase sales and profits. Originality/value This is the first paper integrating the DOI, the social capital theory and the TAM to empirically investigate consumer willingness to try nano-food products.

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