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Article
Publication date: 10 October 2018

Isabel Prieto-Pastor, Víctor Martín-Pérez and Natalia Martín-Cruz

This paper aims to examine how the different dimensions of project members’ intra-organizational social capital – cognitive, affective and relational – facilitate knowledge…

1400

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how the different dimensions of project members’ intra-organizational social capital – cognitive, affective and relational – facilitate knowledge integration in project-based organizations, and how knowledge integration, in turn, impacts explorative and exploitative learning.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an analysis of 129 R&D Spanish organizations, the study analyzes the interconnections between the different dimensions of social capital and how they affect to knowledge integration as antecedent of explorative and exploitative learning in project-based organizations.

Findings

Results confirm that knowledge integration is beneficial for both exploratory and exploitive learning and thus that R&D organizations may be thus ambidextrous in their knowledge management. Related to the three dimensions of social capital, only the cognitive dimension (shared vision) has a significant impact on knowledge integration. However, the analysis confirms the interconnections between the three dimensions of social capital: the relational dimension (social interaction ties) and the cognitive dimension (shared vision) have significant effect on the relational one (trust), and the relational dimension also has an influence on the cognitive dimension. The model proposed in this study thus shows an acceptable capacity to discern the different influence of the dimensions of internal social capital on knowledge integration and, subsequently, ambidextrous learning.

Originality/value

This paper examines the importance of intra-organizational social capital, in terms of their cognitive (shared vision), relational (trust) and structural (social interaction ties) dimensions, for explorative and exploitative learning in project-based organizations. The analysis takes the baton of previous literature where is suggested that the three dimensions of social capital are interlocked and not just need to be considered simultaneously.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 22 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Yosra Mani and Lassaad Lakhal

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…

2168

Abstract

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.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 21 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 August 2020

Hesamedin Gholami, Amir Alambeigi, Mohammadreza Farrokhnia, Omid Noroozi and Mostafa Karbasioun

This study aims to investigate the role of social capital in Iranian agricultural students' acquisition of generic skills. For this purpose, the effect of various social capital

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the role of social capital in Iranian agricultural students' acquisition of generic skills. For this purpose, the effect of various social capital dimensions on students' generic skills development was examined.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted among 190 third- and fourth-year undergraduate students in one of the colleges of agriculture and natural resources in Iran. The partial least square method was used to examine the relationships among various social capital dimensions (i.e. social values, social trust, social networks, social cohesion, social participation, social communications and information sharing) with students' generic skills.

Findings

The findings showed that social networks and social participation are effective factors in the generic skills development of students. A model designed for the development of students' generic skills based on their social capital level predicted up to 33% of generic skills' variances. Furthermore, the multi-group analysis showed that males and females vary on how various social capital dimensions affect their generic skills. In this respect, the social participation dimension had a significantly greater impact on female students' generic skills, whereas the generic skills of male students were influenced more by the social cohesion dimension.

Practical implications

Developing generic skills through social capital can be considered as an effective strategy in countries that do not have formal programs for developing students' generic skills. Additionally, higher education policymakers should present a more supportive approach for developing generic skills of female students through social participation in the campuses.

Originality/value

So far, no study has examined the relationships among various social capital dimensions and students' generic skills in Iran. The picture is even more unclear when it comes to the differences between male and female students. The results of this study confirmed the importance of social networks and social participation in the universities to support students and to improve their generic skills and, consequently, their employability competencies. Furthermore, it could be inferred that male and female students have similarities and also differences in terms of the effect of social capital on developing generic skills that can provide a path for future studies.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 December 2021

Hongyu Ma, Yongmei Carol Zhang, Allan Butler, Pengyu Guo and David Bozward

China has a new rural revitalization strategy to stimulate rural transformation through modernizing rural areas and resolving their social contradictions. While social capital is…

Abstract

Purpose

China has a new rural revitalization strategy to stimulate rural transformation through modernizing rural areas and resolving their social contradictions. While social capital is recognized as an important element to rural revitalization and entrepreneurship, research into the role of psychological capital is less developed. Therefore, this paper assesses the impact of both social and psychological capital on entrepreneurial performance of Chinese new-generation rural migrant entrepreneurs (NGRMEs) who have returned to their homes to develop businesses as part of the rural revitalization revolution.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a survey, data were collected from 525 NGRMEs in Shaanxi province. This paper uses factor analysis to determine variables for a multiple linear regression model to investigate the impacts of dimensions of both social capital and psychological capital on NGRMEs’ entrepreneurial performance.

Findings

Through the factor analysis, social capital of these entrepreneurs consists of five dimensions (reputation, participation, networks, trust and support), psychological capital has three dimensions (innovation and risk-taking, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial happiness) and entrepreneurial performance contains four dimensions (financial, customer, learning and growth, and internal business process). Furthermore, the multiple linear regression model empirically verifies that both social capital and psychological capital significantly influence and positively correlate with NGRMEs' entrepreneurial performance.

Originality/value

This study shows the importance of how a mixture of interrelated social and psychological dimensions influence entrepreneurial performance that may contribute to the success of the Chinese rural revitalization strategy. This has serious implications when attempting to improve the lives of over 100 million rural Chinese citizens.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 January 2020

Rahma Oussi and Wafi Chtourou

This study aims to investigate the theoretical limitations of the social network theory applied on employee creativity.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the theoretical limitations of the social network theory applied on employee creativity.

Design/methodology/approach

By combining the social network theory and componential model of creativity, this study studies the possible impact of social capital through its three dimensions (structural, relational and cognitive dimension) on individual creativity, to explore then the moderating effect of cognitive style as individual characteristic on the structural dimension of social capital such weak ties and employee creativity.

Findings

The results show that, on a sample of 95 employees belonging to four companies in the IT sector, predictions based on the social network theory are only weakly verified. Indeed, the relational and cognitive dimensions of social capital do not have a significant impact on individual creativity.

Originality/value

Based on Kim et al.’s (2016) call for future research, this study extends the assumptions of the social network theory announcing that social capital through its structural dimension may have an identical impact on individual creativity in all circumstances.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2018

Fu-Sheng Tsai and I-Chieh Hsu

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of social capital on knowledge heterogeneity in order to advance the understanding of the effects and to reconcile existing…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of social capital on knowledge heterogeneity in order to advance the understanding of the effects and to reconcile existing inconsistent findings.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data collected from 105 new product development (NPD) projects were analyzed with regression-based methods.

Findings

The results indicated that trust, centralization and shared vision as the three social capital dimensions generally have negative impacts on the domain and presentation dimensions of knowledge heterogeneity. However, the three dimensions of social capital do not exhibit consistent influences on the tacitness heterogeneity (i.e. an epistemological dimension of knowledge heterogeneity).

Research limitations/implications

More research is needed to explore the role of social capital dimensions in developing a range of knowledge attributes of NPD teams, among which knowledge heterogeneity is one. The various dimensions of knowledge an NPD team possesses should have performance implications and deserve future investigation.

Originality/value

The study is one of the first documented attempts to demonstrate contingencies in the relationship between social capital and knowledge heterogeneity. The effect of social capital on knowledge heterogeneity should be understood at the level of dimensions of the two respective constructs.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 57 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 August 2013

Jose Carlos Pinho

Despite the increasing importance of online social networks (OSN), there is little empirical research available to address different measurement scales derived from this new type…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the increasing importance of online social networks (OSN), there is little empirical research available to address different measurement scales derived from this new type of communication and interaction. The purpose of this study is to build on and extend the measurement scale of social capital proposed by Williams.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a quantitative approach, a survey was undertaken among a sample of 274 individuals to empirically test a proposed measurement scale of social capital within OSN. In order to test this scale, a confirmatory factor analysis was used.

Findings

Findings from this study provide valuable insights into the proposed scale of social capital within OSN, which reproduces the same distinctive dimensions of William's study, particularly bridging and bonding dimensions. This study went a step further and uncovered two of three further dimensions of social identity: affective/evaluative and cognitive dimension of social capital.

Practical implications

This study may assist other researchers with a new instrument to measure social capital within SNs.

Originality/value

A review of the literature on OSN (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln and others), which have become a new phenomena in human communication and interaction, illustrates that there is a need for improvement of scale measurements.

Details

Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7122

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2020

Mamatha V. Srirama, Parameshwar P. Iyer and Hariprasad Reddy

Earlier studies of social capital have focused on its influence on various aspects of business. There is substantial void in the literature on how social capital enables learning…

Abstract

Purpose

Earlier studies of social capital have focused on its influence on various aspects of business. There is substantial void in the literature on how social capital enables learning culture in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to explore direct and indirect relations between dimensions of social capital and learning culture in the organizational context.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey-based research was conducted in which the questionnaire based on the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) and social capital was used. Participants in this study were employees from an IT organization based in India. Data was subjected to structural equation modeling to understand causal relations between social capital and learning culture.

Findings

This empirical study emphatically shows that parameters of social capital positively influence individual learning. Results show that shared vision, shared narratives in the cognitive dimension; trust and identification in the relational dimension; and mutual confiding in the structural dimension have a positive influence on individual learning.

Originality/value

Findings in this paper indicate that a culture of learning in organizations starts with individuals and it can be fueled and sustained by social capital embedded within the organization if managers focus on enabling the factors identified in this study through policies and practices.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 July 2020

Jadranka Švarc, Jasminka Lažnjak and Marina Dabić

This study, an exploratory one, aims to empirically investigate the association of national intellectual capital (NIC) with the national digital transformation readiness of the…

1922

Abstract

Purpose

This study, an exploratory one, aims to empirically investigate the association of national intellectual capital (NIC) with the national digital transformation readiness of the European Union's (EU’s) member states. Apart from building the conceptual model of NIC, this study explores the role of NIC dimensions in the digital divide between European countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the literature review and the available EU statistical data and indexes, the theoretical framework and conceptual model for NIC were developed. The model explores the relation of NIC and its dimensions (human, social, structural, relational and renewable/development capital) on the readiness of European countries for digital transformation and the digital divide. Significant differences between EU countries in NIC and digital readiness were tested. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the association of each NIC dimension with digital transformation and digital divide within the EU.

Findings

Despite a positive association between all dimensions of NIC and digital transformation readiness, the proposed model of NIC was not confirmed in full. Regression analysis proved social capital and working skills, a dimension of human capital, to be the predictors of digital transformation at a national level, able to detect certain elements of digital divide between EU member states. Structural capital, knowledge and education, as dimensions of human capital, were predictors of the digital divide in terms of the integration of digital media in companies.

Research limitations/implications

This research has a limited propensity for generalisation due to the lack of common measurement models in the field of NIC exploration.

Practical implications

This research offers policy makers an indication of the relationships between NIC and digital transformation, pointing out which dimensions of NIC should be strengthened to allow the EU to meet the challenges of digital economy and to overcome the digital divide between EU member states.

Social implications

The use of digital technologies is key in creating active and informed citizens in the public sphere and productive companies and economic growth in the business sphere.

Originality/value

This study provides an original theoretical framework and conceptual model through which to analyse the relationship between NIC and digital transformation, which has thus far not been explored at the level of the EU. This research makes an original contribution to the empirical exploration of NIC and produces new insights in the fields of digital transformation and intellectual capital.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2015

Sara Jonsson

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate entrepreneurs’ network evolution in the start-up phase.

1963

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate entrepreneurs’ network evolution in the start-up phase.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the case studies of six fashion start-up firms, this study uses a three-dimensional perspective on social capital (structural, relational, cognitive) to investigate entrepreneurs’ network evolution (i.e. initiation of new relationships) in the start-up phase so as to acquire resources and support for firms’ goals. The study focuses particularly on the understudied cognitive dimension of social capital. The fashion industry provides a relevant research setting because it is characterised by changes in demand, which generate opportunities for entrepreneurship.

Findings

The findings show that the display of cognitive attributes is important for the creation of structural social capital (the establishment of new relationships). The findings also indicate that relationships initiated based on the cognitive dimension have a high probability of developing into embedded relationships, thereby becoming high in the relational dimension and providing access to private information containing referrals to other actors. Thus, these relationships also promote the continued development of the structural dimension.

Originality/value

The findings imply that the entrepreneurs’ sets of cognitive attributes constitute an important asset in the creation of social capital. They also point to the importance of signalling these values to potential resource holders. Relationships initiated through the display of cognitive attributes can provide resources without requiring immediate economic remuneration.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 62000