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1 – 10 of over 105000Helen May and Mark Jones
In recent years, there have been a growing number of references to social capital, in debates about higher education (HE), by policy makers, senior institutional leaders…
Abstract
In recent years, there have been a growing number of references to social capital, in debates about higher education (HE), by policy makers, senior institutional leaders and academics. This chapter highlights the value of social capital to both students and institutions alike, as a contributing factor to the transformational effect of HE; and as an important tool to explain the value of HE to policy makers and the public. We draw on empirical data from students articulating the value of social capital. Their voices demonstrate that social capital has a significant role to play in institutional endeavours to maximise student success.
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James J. Hoffman, Mark L. Hoelscher and Karma Sherif
This article attempts to begin the process of removing the cloak of causal ambiguity by examining the role that knowledge management has in the creation of the wide…
Abstract
Purpose
This article attempts to begin the process of removing the cloak of causal ambiguity by examining the role that knowledge management has in the creation of the wide variety of competitive advantages found in some organizations. Specifically, this article aims to extend understanding in the field of knowledge management by examining how knowledge management can affect organizational performance, and by examining one possible determinant of an organization's capacity to manage knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Reviews literature on resources‐advantage theory of the firm, social capital and knowledge management to propose ways within the organization to improve their ability to manage knowledge and achieve sustained superior performance. The paper is structured around the following constructs: resource‐advantage theory of the firm, social capital, and knowledge management.
Findings
Describes the relationship between social capital and knowledge management and how both help organizations achieve a sustained superior performance within the market. Suggests that organizations with high levels of social capital have more knowledge‐management capabilities than organizations with low levels of social capital.
Research limitations/implications
This article extends prior research of knowledge management by proposing how social capital can positively impact the ability of organizations to manage knowledge.
Practical implications
Since resources within all businesses are relatively limited, and particularly so when the business is small relative to its competitors, the revelation that social capital can lead to more effective knowledge management makes the decision to support and nurture social‐capital development much more credible.
Originality/value
Because there is no existing literature that has examined the relationship between social capital, knowledge management, and organizational performance, this paper provides a foundation for future studies that examine the relationship between social capital and knowledge management.
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This study aims to investigate the effects of social capital (defined as networks) on the performance of Chinese private enterprises.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of social capital (defined as networks) on the performance of Chinese private enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employ an econometric model to test relationships between social capital and firm performance, using a sample of private enterprises in a survey in China in 2000.
Findings
The analysis suggests two findings. First, memberships in various organizations do not appear to be significant in affecting the performance of Chinese private enterprises. Second, short‐time investment in, and the flow of, social capital are significant determinants of enterprise performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study examines only the effects of the short‐time investment in social capital. Further research is suggested to examine the effects of long‐term investments in social capital, the relationship between short‐time investment and long‐time investment in social capital, and the network as a whole, including informal networks.
Originality/value
The paper uses the survey data in China to test Krishna's hypothesis which suggests that short‐term investments can play a positive role in the financial performance of firms.
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Konstantinos I. Evangelinos and Nikoleta Jones
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of the theory of social capital for the challenges presented during environmental management initiatives in higher…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of the theory of social capital for the challenges presented during environmental management initiatives in higher education institutions (HEIs). In particular, the paper utilises the fundamental components of social capital theory and assesses a hypothesis that higher stocks of social capital result in benefits for environmental management of HEIs.
Design/methodology/approach
An introduction of the concept of social capital and its components is presented followed by a brief review on its main connections with environmental policy and management in general. An analysis of the influence of each component on several issues occurring during the environmental management of HEIs follows.
Findings
Through the analysis, it is claimed that social capital is a useful concept for the environmental management of HEIs and may significantly facilitate such initiatives.
Research limitations/implications
The paper emphasizes the effect of community social capital in the internal functioning of organizations. Further research could also explore the influence of dealings with external actors.
Practical implications
The paper emphasises the importance of exploring the potential influence of social factors while planning environmental initiatives. Through such assessments, several obstacles may be overcome during implementation procedures.
Originality/value
This is a first attempt to explore the application of the theory of social capital for the functioning of the academic community during initiatives for the greening of HEIs.
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Abdulmuttalip Pilatin, Ali Hepşen and Onur Kayran
This study aims to reveal whether social capital has an effect on the housing price index in Turkey, which is a developing country. The research was carried out by using…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to reveal whether social capital has an effect on the housing price index in Turkey, which is a developing country. The research was carried out by using the data on the basis of 81 provinces of Turkey in a 12-year period covering the years 2007–2018.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were subjected to panel data regression analysis and the related models were tested using the Driscoll-Kraay (1998) Estimator.
Findings
According to the results of the analysis, it was understood that there is a negative and significant relationship between social capital (SC1) and the housing price index. The results were corroborated by susceptibility testing. As the level of social capital rises in the provinces in Turkey, the manipulative and opportunistic behavior tendencies of individual and corporate house sellers decrease. These results support the principal–agent theory and theory of moral hazard, which constitute the theoretical background of the study.
Originality/value
No study has been found in the literature on the effect of social capital on housing prices. This situation constitutes the main motivation source of the study and shows its originality.
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Iván Arribas, Penélope Hernández and Jose E. Vila
This paper aims to analyze the role played by two dimensions of entrepreneurs' private social capital in the survival, growth and innovativeness of entrepreneurial service…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the role played by two dimensions of entrepreneurs' private social capital in the survival, growth and innovativeness of entrepreneurial service ventures: local size and preferential attachment degree.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by a questionnaire, the unit of investigation being the private entrepreneur in the service sector in the city of Shanghai. The questionnaire allows the authors to identify the social network of the entrepreneurs, estimate the empirical degree distribution for the entire sample, and estimate local size and preferential attachment degree.
Findings
There is empirical evidence that entrepreneurs do not create social networks with preferential attachment structure and a large local size of the network increases the chances of survival of new ventures; however, the chance to become a dynamic venture is only related to entrepreneurs' preferential attachment degree.
Social implications
Any entrepreneurial strategy should include an investment plan to generate a minimum level of social capital or guanxi. Additionally, efficient strategy to generate social capital for dynamic entrepreneurship should focus on the creation of quality social capital. The underestimation of the role of social capital seems to have a deeper impact when analyzing the phenomenon of entrepreneurial innovation.
Originality/value
This conclusion suggests that the role of social capital in the entrepreneurial process could be underestimated systematically, since most of the literature only considers local measures of social capital. This underestimation seems to have a deeper impact when analyzing the phenomenon of entrepreneurial innovation.
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Yu Zhou, Huaiqian Zhu, Li Zhu, Guangjian Liu and Yufeng Zou
Drawing from social capital theory and resource dependence theory, this paper aims to test the relationship between top management team (TMT) government social capital and…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing from social capital theory and resource dependence theory, this paper aims to test the relationship between top management team (TMT) government social capital and firm’s innovation performance via firm’s network prestige, and the moderating effect of TMT academic social capital.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research Database as well as A-share listed firms’ annual reports, and finally generated a sample of 922 firms and 2,464 firm-years from 2008 to 2014. UCINET 6.0 was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The authors find that the government social capital of TMT is positively related to firms’ innovation performance and firms’ network prestige plays a mediating role in this relationship. In addition, TMT academic social capital can strengthen the links between TMT government social capital and innovation performance through firms’ network prestige.
Originality/value
This paper not only contributes to literatures on the mechanism in the relationship between government social capital and firms’ innovation, but also to literatures on the effectiveness of the heterogeneity of firm’s social capital.
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