scholarly journals The impact of the cooperative structure on organizational social capital

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin Stoop ◽  
Taco Brandsen ◽  
Jan-Kees Helderman
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Social Capital ◽  
Institutional Conditions ◽  
Human Resources Managers ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Most research into the relationship between social capital and cooperatives takes social capital as the independent variable and the cooperative as the dependent variable, but as yet the authors know little about causality in the other direction. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the cooperative structure helps to maintain organizational social capital. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 46 participants from local banks (chairpersons, directors, managers, team leaders and human resources managers). Findings Although the cooperative structure formally remained in place, integration into financial markets and digitalization effectively disembedded the organization from its original social context. The cooperative model can only remain distinctive, in terms of how it relates to its clients, under certain institutional conditions. Practical implications The findings suggest that scaling, in response to changes in the institutional environment, was an important factor in changing the nature of the organization. Originality/value The paper contributes to the understanding of the social dynamics of cooperatives in the field of financial services.

Enhancing internal communication to build social capital amongst hospitality employees – the role of social media

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 2675-2695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ceridwyn King ◽  
Hyemi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Internal Communication ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Current Practices

Purpose Adopting a social capital theoretical (SCT) lens, this study aims to propose a conceptual framework of effective internal communication (IC) for the hospitality industry. The study explores how to enhance current practices and the suitability of social media as an augmentation to traditional IC channels. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research methodology, consisting of 20 semi-structured interviews with hospitality employees, was adopted. Following a “reduction” and “interpretation” process, 16 themes related to effective IC were identified which informed a conceptual framework. Findings Characteristics of effective IC were identified in addition to IC benefits at both employee and organizational levels. Considering the limitations of current practices, the applicability of social media was explored. Requirements of effective IC suggest that new channels (e.g. social media) should be adopted to build social capital. Research limitations/implications The study informs SCT from a meso-level (process) perspective. The articulation of an IC framework informs how social capital can be built through effective IC, providing a foundation for further empirical examination as to the impact of various channels on the IC process. Adoption of a case study design suggests that results and implications can only be generalized to similar environments. Practical implications The study details the characteristics of effective IC and its subsequent benefits, highlighting how social media can augment current IC practices in a hospitality organization. Originality/value Being a 24/7 labor-intensive operation makes employee communication to ensure service excellence challenging in the hospitality industry. Through the application of SCT and the exploration of social media in a workplace setting to enhance IC, significant theoretical and practical insights are realized.

Social capital, knowledge sharing, work meaningfulness and creativity: evidence from the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabeen Hussain Bhatti ◽  
Dmitriy Vorobyev ◽  
Ramsha Zakariya ◽  
Michael Christofi
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Employee Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Social Capital ◽  
Work Meaningfulness ◽  
The Impact

PurposeAs an integral part of intellectual capital (IC), social capital (SC) has been studied as an asset crucial to social relationships among individuals and groups of individuals, which in turn have a significant impact on organizational performance outcomes. This study investigates the impact of organizational social capital (OSC) on employee creativity through the mediation role of knowledge sharing (KS) and moderation of work meaningfulness (WM).Design/methodology/approachThe authors base the analysis on employee-level data gathered via a cross-sectional survey designed for this study. The authors surveyed 217 employees of the pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan. The authors run a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and use structural equation modeling (SEM) and Hayes method to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe authors find that OSC positively affects employees’ willingness to share their knowledge with colleagues, which in turn has a positive effect on employee creativity (EC). The results also show that the relationship between social capital and knowledge sharing is moderated by work meaningfulness.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the IC in general and the SC literature in particular, by providing empirical evidence that shows how creativity could be a focal and pivotal performance outcome of organizational social capital through the moderated mediation roles of work meaningfulness and knowledge sharing.Originality/valueThe authors adopt the concept of SC from the organizational level to the individual level, examining how an individual's perception of organizational capital influences his or her creative behavior and exploring the role of KS and job meaningfulness (JM) in this relationship.

Architects and rural post-disaster housing: lessons from South India

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gertrud Tauber
Keyword(s):  
South India ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Indian Ocean Tsunami ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose – This research aims to examine three housing projects implemented by local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and planned by local architects after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 in rural South India. The key to the acceptance of post-disaster houses lies in meeting the peoples’ wishes and needs, and in integrating local know-how into the course of the project process (a premise intensively discussed in theory). After the tsunami of 2004, many (NGOs) appointed architects, assuming that these professionals would be qualified to facilitate the implementation of people-oriented houses (and villages). However, the architects’ roles vary significantly, which had, as will be shown here, a considerable impact on the degree of success of the project. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data for this study were gathered through household questionnaires (110); informal interaction; participant-observation (work assignment: 2.5 years; field survey: 4 months); semi-structured interviews (NGO representatives, architects and engineers). Secondary literature was studied on post-disaster housing, building cultures and cultures of knowledge. Findings – This study reveals that, in the course of rural post-disaster reconstruction, there is a crying need to appoint the “right” personnel having, first of all, the capacity to comply with the social dynamics at project level, and, second, being able to address those aspects critical for the realization of people-oriented housing. Architects can be a valuable resource for both the NGO and the villagers. However, this paper shows that key to this is, among other considerations, a thorough understanding of the rural (building) culture, its abilities and requirements, the strategic interplay of various roles and abilities during the course of an intricate building process and the design of appropriate roles for adequately-skilled architects. Originality/value – To this date, the debate on the role of architects in the context of post-disaster housing has neglected to examine empirically the implications of appointing these professionals in rural post-disaster contexts. This paper addresses this imbalance and complements the existing corpus of work by examining the impact of different roles of architects on the degree of success of the project at village level.

The role of district leaders for organization social capital

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith H. Hooge ◽  
Nienke M. Moolenaar ◽  
Karin C.J. van Look ◽  
Selma K. Janssen ◽  
Peter J.C. Sleegers
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Network ◽  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
School Principals ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Social Capital ◽  
The Impact ◽  
District Governance

Purpose Although it is assumed that school district governance by districts leaders can impact schools’ capacity to improvement and educational quality, there is little systematic evidence to support this claim. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how governance goals and interventions affect school districts’ social capital. Design/methodology/approach The empirical enquiry used quantitative data on district leaders enacting governance as perceived by their school principals. These data were collected among 399 school principals of 23 Dutch school districts in elementary education, using a survey. Social network data on social capital within school districts were collected using a social network survey among educational administrators (i.e. district leaders, central office administrators and school principals). Additionally, examples of the relation between school district social capital and governance at six school districts were described. Findings Results suggest that district leaders can promote the organizational social capital of their school districts through focusing on educational goals. In addition, the findings show that they can reinforce their impact by using interventions varying in coercion level, of which offering support to school principals appears to be “a golden button” to make organizational social capital thrive. Research limitations/implications Limitations to the study are the generalizability of the findings (they can be questioned because “convenience sampling” was used) and warrant a longitudinal design to examine how organization social capital develops over time. Originality/value The study is unique as it addresses the impact district leaders may have on their districts’ social capital by focusing on social network approach in the study of school district governance.

What makes representation of executive women in business happen?

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Palmer ◽  
Anita Bosch
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Women Executives ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Executive Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Executive Women ◽  
Management Level ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the underlying organisational features, according to the gendered organisation theory, that have contributed to high levels of representation of women executives, contrary to the trend in the South African financial services industry. Design/methodology/approach A critical realist approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews, based on a theoretical framework of the gendered organisation. Data were aligned to the theoretical levels of critical realism. Findings The research found that the pool from which the successful candidates were appointed was influenced by two features. The first was the perceived attractiveness of the organisation as an employer, composed of organisational prestige, opportunity for altruism, and the sex of the CEO. The second was the role of the CEO as gatekeeper, most notably the CEO’s network and the impact of the similar-to-me paradigm during selection. Originality/value The utilisation of critical realism as an approach allowed for organisational features embedded in the theory of the gendered organisation to be identified and gives an indication of how the number of women at executive management level may be increased. The salient factors are the role the woman CEO played in the inclusion of more women at the executive level by virtue of her being a woman, and the attractiveness of the organisation to women employees. Organisational features identified were gendered towards the feminine.

Navigating institutional challenges in Mexico

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Estrada-Robles ◽  
Nick Williams ◽  
Tim Vorley
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
Resources And Capabilities ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Institutional Challenges

Purpose Focusing on the family as the central unit of analysis, the purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurial families, with more than one owner/entrepreneur, utilise social capital in a challenging institutional environment. Design/methodology/approach The empirical focus of this paper is the institutional context of Mexico and how it impacts on entrepreneurial families and their access to social capital. The authors employ an in-depth qualitative approach to understand entrepreneurs’ perspective as being part of an entrepreneurial family. A total of 36 semi-structured interviews were conducted with multiple respondents of each entrepreneurial family. Findings This study shows that social capital allows members in the entrepreneurial family to access a wider pool of resources to utilise to benefit their ventures, while also helping them to operate in a challenging institutional environment. It also illustrates how social capital is used to overcome institutional asymmetries. Originality/value This paper contributes to research by examining the links between institutions and entrepreneurial families through a focus on social capital. It provides a nuanced understanding of how the entrepreneurial family serves as an intermediary through which social capital gives family members access to resources and capabilities to enable their pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavours and overcome the institutional challenges they face in Mexico.

scholarly journals Greater fit and a greater gap

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-594
Author(s):  
Steven A. Brieger ◽  
Dirk De Clercq ◽  
Jolanda Hessels ◽  
Christian Pfeifer
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Worker Rights ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Person Environment Fit ◽  
High Power Distance ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Low Uncertainty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how national institutional environments contribute to differences in life satisfaction between entrepreneurs and employees. Design/methodology/approach Leveraging person–environment fit and institutional theories and using a sample of more than 70,000 entrepreneurs and employees from 43 countries, the study investigates how the impact of entrepreneurial activity on life satisfaction differs in various environmental contexts. An entrepreneur’s life satisfaction arguably should increase when a high degree of compatibility or fit exists between his or her choice to be an entrepreneur and the informal and formal institutional environment. Findings The study finds that differences in life satisfaction between entrepreneurs and employees are larger in countries with high power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, extant entrepreneurship policies, low commercial profit taxes and low worker rights. Originality/value This study sheds new light on how entrepreneurial activity affects life satisfaction, contingent on the informal and formal institutions in a country that support entrepreneurship by its residents.

The impact of collaborative engagement on knowledge and performance gains in episodic collaborations

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy W. Nix ◽  
Zach G. Zacharia
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ancillary Benefits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
Collaborative Engagement ◽  
Relational Outcomes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ancillary Benefit

Purpose – Supply chains are embedded in a larger network of enterprises where firms exchange offerings, often compete for the same customers, and constantly innovate to improve their performance. In these dynamic environments, firms are increasingly dependent on the knowledge and expertise in external organizations to innovate, problem-solve, and improve performance. Firms are increasingly collaborating to exchange and pool skills and knowledge and deploy resources and capabilities not found in their own firm. This research using both structured interviews and survey data seeks to determine what are the direct benefits and the ancillary benefits of collaboration. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methodology approach was utilized, using qualitative structured interviews leading to developing a research model and then an empirical survey of 473 participants who are involved in their respective organization's collaboration projects. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine relationships between collaborative engagement, knowledge gained, operational outcomes and relational outcomes. Findings – The results of the study indicate that collaborative engagement has a direct effect on knowledge gained, operational outcomes and relational outcomes in collaboration. The ancillary benefit of collaboration is the learning that takes place leads to improved operational outcomes and relational outcomes. Research limitations/implications – In this research study all the constructs are only examined from a single perspective. This can be a limitation as it would be of greater value to collect data from all the members involved in the collaboration. Originality/value – Collaboration has been well studied in many fields but this research suggests an important ancillary benefit that needs to be considered when deciding to collaborate is the knowledge and learning that happens during a collaboration.

Social capital and national innovation system: a cross-country analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepehr Ghazinoory ◽  
Ali Bitaab ◽  
Ardeshir Lohrasbi
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
National Level ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose – In the last two decades, researchers have paid much attention to the role of cultural values on economic and social development. In particular, the crucial role of different aspects of culture on the development of innovation has been stressed in the literature. Consequently, it is vital to understand how social capital, as a core cultural value, affects the innovation process and the innovative performance at the national level. However, to date, the impact of different dimensions of social capital and innovation has not been properly portrayed or explained. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of four different dimensions of social capital (institutional and interpersonal, associational life and norms) on two of the main functions of national innovation system (NIS) (entrepreneurship and knowledge creation) based on over 50,000 observations in 34 countries. Design/methodology/approach – In this regard, national-level data from the World Values Survey database was employed to quantify social capital. Entrepreneurship is, in turn, assumed to consist of three sub-indexes and 14 indicators based on the Global Entrepreneurship Index. Knowledge creation is also measured through US Patent Office applications. Also, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling approach were used to build the measurement model and investigate the impact that each factor of social capital had on entrepreneurship and knowledge application, respectively. Measurement and structural models were built and their reliability and validity were tested using various fit indices. Research findings suggest the strong positive effect of institutional trust and networking on entrepreneurship. Also, interpersonal trust and networks were shown to have high influence on knowledge development at the national level. Norms appear to have naïve to medium negative effects on both functions. Findings – Research findings suggest the strong positive effect of institutional trust and networking on entrepreneurship. Also, interpersonal trust and networks were shown to have high influence on knowledge development at the national level. Norms appear to have naïve to medium negative effects on both functions. Originality/value – However, to date, the impact of different dimensions of social capital and innovation has not been properly portrayed or explained.

Public libraries digital services and sustainability issues

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 34-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarina Michnik
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
Local Politicians ◽  
Physical Spaces ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study how Swedish local politicians perceive the impact of public library digital services on public libraries and to discuss how this can affect the sustainable development of public libraries. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews with local politicians from 19 different Swedish municipalities. Data were treated to qualitative content analysis and discussed based on the concept of sustainable organization. Findings – According to local politicians, public library digital services may affect public libraries through changes to libraries’ physical spaces, librarians’ tasks and competencies and libraries’ economic situations. Based on these findings, public library digital services can both strengthen and weaken public library sustainability through, for example, increased access and expenditures, the latter of which may threaten public library sustainability. Research limitations/implications – Interviews did not focus specifically on the politicians’ views on public library digital services but dealt generally with their views on public libraries. To identify reasons for variations in views on this topic, follow-up interviews should be done. Data on views from public library managers would also be of use to determine the degree to which they are shared with local politicians. Originality/value – When sustainability and public libraries are discussed, the focus is generally on the library’s contribution to a sustainable society. Here, the focus is instead on the sustainability of the public library itself.

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