The impact of the cooperative structure on organizational social capital

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.

Russian organizations social capital formation internal factors

The article presents the results of Russian organizations social capital formation internal factors studies. This problem is considered from the conceptual-theoretical model proposed by the author point of view which assumes to consider social capital as a specific management resource the formation of which is influenced by a set of external and internal factors.The author notes a certain inconsistency of the research in particular heterogeneity of social groups which negatively affects the formation of organizational social capital due to the lack of a general tendency to pro-social behavior.The analysis of the structural aspect of social capital using data on social networks reflects to a greater extent its relational component characterizing social networks in terms of content and strength of connections.The article highlights the typical limitations of studies (such as indicators limitation, incompleteness of coverage of social capital different aspects, the aspiration to consider the organizational social capital as the sum of the individual capitals, insufficient sample sizes) contributing to their fragmentation and the narrative.The author notes the special role of corporate social responsibility system and social policy as a factors in organization social capital formation process. Corporate culture is defined as a factor of social capital formation as well. It is considered as an independent component of organization functioning.

The role of social capital in augmenting strategic renewal of SMEs: does entrepreneurial orientation and organizational flexibility really matter?

PurposeThe objective of this study is to evaluate the key issues that how social capital augments the initiation of strategic renewal through the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation and the moderating role of organizational flexibility. In the context of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of developing economies, the study developed and tested the theoretical model of strategic renewal for analyzing its major outputs.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilized cross-sectional design and employ quantitative approach. The data were collected from the owner, managers and executive directors of pharmaceutical SMEs of Pakistan. The study used statistical analysis of correlation and regression for the analysis of data.FindingsThe study discovered that entrepreneurial orientation mediates the positive relationship of social capital and strategic renewal. Moreover, high organizational flexibility strengthens the association between social capital and strategic renewal of SMEs.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence that how to thrive the mechanism of strategic renewal. The study further provides understanding of the effects of organizational social capital, entrepreneurial orientation and organizational flexibility on strategic renewal.

Intra-Organizational Social Capital and Product Innovation: The Mediating Role of Realized Absorptive Capacity

This paper examines the influence on product innovation of factors based on a company’s transformation and exploitation of knowledge gathered from its intra-organizational relationships. Specifically, this paper analyses the influence of intra-organizational social capital (SC) (i.e., comprised of structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions) on realized absorptive capacity (RACAP). Moreover, it analyses the mediating role of RACAP on the relationship between internal SC and product innovation. Based on a sample of companies from the Spanish biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries, two hypotheses were tested using a structural equations model and the partial least squares (PLS) technique. The results support both hypotheses, suggesting that the development of strong and tightly knit links based on a common understanding and trust among company members lead the firm to develop dynamic capabilities for transforming and exploiting knowledge acquired externally, which fosters innovation based on new product development. Research limitations, implications and future research are also discussed by the authors of the paper.

The Mediating Role of Organizational Identification in the Relation between Organizational Social Capital, Perceived Organizational Prestige, Perceived Employability and Career Satisfaction

In career development, a variety of personal, organizational and labor market variables challenge employees and organizations, in particular those in dynamic working environments, such as higher education (HE) institutions. This study examines the association between work history, organizational social capital (OSC) and perceived organizational prestige (POP) as antecedent variables, and perceived employability (PE) and career satisfaction (CS) as outcome variables, as well as the mediating role of organizational identification (OI) in these relations. A sample of 283 workers in Chilean HE institutions filled out an on-line questionnaire, and hypotheses were tested using a mediation model. Results indicated a significant mediation effect of OI, abt = 0.363, 95% CI [0.181, 0.576] abt/c = 31.98%, to explain the relationship between internal perceived employability (IPE) and its predictor variables POP, abpo = 0.102, 95% CI [0.056, 0.160], abpo/c = 9.01%, and OSC, abcsoc = 0.101, 95% CI [0.053, 0.183, abcsoc/c = 8.89%. Promoting a positive image of the organization and its social capital, strengthened by OI, emerge as strategies for HR management oriented toward workers’ career development, with consequent implications for commitment, intention to leave and ultimately for organizational results. The study provides a deeper understanding of the complexity of careers and explains the importance of identification with the organization when the impact of organizational attributes on one’s career is analyzed.

Heterogeneous Inter-Organizational Social Capital in University-Industry Collaboration for Technology Transfer

The phenomenon of university-industry partnership (UIP) has become a valuable research endeavor. However, examining UIP-related literature shows limited understanding from a social capital (SC) perspective, albeit its relevance. Likewise, it is noticeable that research on inter-organizational SC has been predominantly conducted from the perspective of homogenous organizations (i.e., have consistent expectation, mission, and culture). However, the perspective of social interaction between heterogeneous organizations (i.e., belong to different sectors thus inherently different) is limited. The authors address these two gaps by investigating the idiosyncrasy of SC development in the setting of UIP, as a unique context for heterogeneous inter-organizational SC. They contribute to the literature by exposing the various facets of SC dynamics as evolve in this uncommon domain. Also, the identify four factors as moderating the interaction between the three dimensions of SC that eventually influence the dual processes of technology translation and transfer.

Methodology and tools for the organization's social capital empirical research: the theoretical approaches analysis

The article contains the results of the methodological approaches to the formation of tools for the study of organizational social capital analysis. The author identifies theoretical and methodological problems that actualize the operationalization and choice of measurement procedures for the study of social capital in connection with its increasing role in the management of organizations. The article highlights the minimum requirements for the operationalization of social capital which are not implemented in most studies. Based on the analysis, the author identifies deductive (more classical) and inductive methodological strategies. The first strategy requires an initial clear definition of social capital as an object of research and identification of its constituent elements. The second strategy involves constructing the concept of social capital as a result of generalizing empirical phenomena. The results of the analysis of several generalized operationalization schemes proposed by various researchers (“top-down” and “bottom-up” schemes) are presented. It is concluded that the advantages of constructing the concept of social capital on the basis of an empirical approach in comparison with the theoretical and deductive approach which however is limited due to the subject of study. Attempts of social capital meta-analysis are reduced to the study of effects rather than content. The article notes the increasing role of digitalization in the formation of network communities that are transformed under new information and communication structures influence into a diversified type of social associations that do not radically change the nature and content of social capital.