Organizational social capital, resilience and innovation validation of a theoretical model for specialized workers

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the interactions and their cause/effect consequences of three aspects present inside organizational realities, namely, organizational social capital (OSC), worker resilience and innovation derived from the workers.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study for analyzing the subjects was chosen. As a quantitative research approach, after the theoretical review, two possibilities were hypothesized for how they act as a system. In order to verify the hypotheses, the authors chose the structural equation model, a suitable instrument for this analysis, as a mathematical tool.

Findings

The results show that OSC is a mediator between resilience and innovation in the organizational dynamics. This suggests that workers’ resilience need OSC, acting as the mediator, to improve their level of innovation capacity.

Research limitations/implications

The study gives information at a specific point in time. Follow-up studies are needed to understand the phenomena’s transformation, and no distinction was made between exploratory and exploitative innovation. More empirical studies should be carried out to enhance its understanding.

Practical implications

These findings can help organizations deal better with these resources to reach their goals because the first, as stated in the purpose, is the amalgamated goodwill necessary for individuals to work together; the second is workers’ capacity to bounce back; and the last is the creativity inherent in people. All of which are significant for an enterprise thrive in its market.

Originality/value

The cited dynamic has few studies, and this work provides evidence about its existence and magnitude, shedding light on a critical factors’ relationship net, especially for enterprises based on the creativity of their workers.

Citation

Fandiño, A.M., Formiga, N.S. and de Menezes, R.M. (2019), "Organizational social capital, resilience and innovation validation of a theoretical model for specialized workers", Journal of Strategy and Management, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 137-152. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-05-2018-0041