Team leader experience in improvement teams: A social networks perspective

In this research, we disentangle the relationship between several key aspects of a team leader's experience and the likelihood of improvement project success. Using the lens of socio-technical systems, we argue that the effect of team leader experience derives from the social system as well as the technical system. The aspects of team leader experience we examine include team leader social capital (a part of the social system) and team leader experience leading projects of the same type (a part of the technical system).We examine four different, yet related, dimensions of a team leader's social capital, which we motivate based on the social networks literature. One dimension, team leader familiarity, suggests that social capital is created when team leaders have experience working with current team members on prior improvement projects, and that such social capital increases the likelihood of improvement project success. We develop three additional dimensions, using social network analysis (SNA), to capture the idea that the improvement team leader's social capital extends beyond the current team to include everyone the leader has previously worked with on improvement projects. Contrasting our SNA-based dimensions with team leader familiarity enables us to better understand the impact of a team leader's social capital both inside and beyond the team. We also examine the effect of a team leader's experience leading prior projects of the same type, and consider the extent to which organizational experience may moderate the impact of both team leader social capital and same-type project experience.Based on analysis of archival data of six sigma projects spanning six years from a Fortune 500 consumer products manufacturer, we find that two of our SNA-based dimensions of team leader social capital, as well as experience leading projects of the same type, increase the likelihood of project success. In addition, we show that organizational experience moderates the relationship between team leader same-type project experience and project success. However, this is not the case for the relationship between the dimensions of team leader social capital and project success. These results provide insights regarding how dimensions of team leader experience and organizational experience collectively impact the operational performance of improvement teams.     

我国农村小额信贷未来发展路径探析

建设社会主义新农村需要大量的资金投入,特别是小额农贷对农民致富持续发展无疑又是举足轻重。本文首先分析了我国农村小额信贷存在的问题,进而指出了其未来的发展路径。得出邮政储蓄银行在农村小额信贷业务方面大有可为。最后分析了邮政储蓄银行农村小额信贷风险的防范措施。     

信贷融资中农村社会资本的信用价值

农业和农村经济发展面临巨大的信贷约束,究其原因,信用资源的匮乏是影响农村经济组织信贷融资的重要因素。而农村社会资本具有经济担保作用,从社会资本视角,对农村信贷融资的信用保障机制进行深入研究,探究农村社会资本的资金调配功能,通过农村社会资本的信用价值及其局限性分析,寻求农村金融体系重构的有效路径。     

Getting the best solution from a supplier – A social capital perspective

Due to the current shift towards solution provision in many industrial markets, buyers are under increasing pressure to develop sourcing strategies to procure custom solutions for their firm in order to achieve competitive advantage. The question arises as to how buyers can ensure they get the best solutions from their suppliers and whether social capital can be applied to improve solution provision processes and value creation. Existing empirical research, however, has paid only little attention to the antecedents of suppliers’ solution provision performance, i.e., their capability to diagnose buyer needs and to design and implement solutions to meet them. We tested how social capital dimensions (relational, cognitive, and structural) relate to solution provision. The study uses empirical data obtained from a survey of 475 suppliers representing both manufacturing and service industries. Partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) and polynomial regression were used to analyze the data. The results demonstrate that the availability of social capital in a buyer-supplier relationship is a relevant antecedent to successful solution provision activities. However, the different dimensions of social capital are found to compensate for each other to some extent. Our study further demonstrates that solution provision is not a monolithic activity but can better be understood as a multi-phase process (diagnosis, solution design, and implementation). Different aspects of social capital may have a different impact depending on the phase of solution provision. The successful diagnosis of buyer needs mediates the effect of social capital on solution design and implementation. It is also found that production characteristics of a buyer and the type of a supplier solution affect the role of social capital in solution provision process.     

Financial social innovation to engage the economically marginalized: insights from an Indian case study

Abstract

New sources of finance within the label of ‘impact investing’ have emerged as mechanisms to promote entrepreneurship within marginalized communities. Different vehicles for impact investment have emerged over the years; however, our understanding around their emergence, configuration and adoption is limited. Hence, the main purpose in this research is to study the role of the contextual drivers and conditions that gave rise to a unique form of impact investment in India, a financial social innovation – developmental venture capital (DVC). Through the lens of capital theories, insights from the case of India’s largest and oldest DVC firm along with three of its most prominent investees are presented. Findings highlight that the social entrepreneurs behind the case DVC wholly re-conceptualized silicon valley-style venture capital financing to suit small brick and mortar investments in rural India, developed mechanisms for deploying funding frugally, and created partnerships of equals between themselves and their investees. Investee founders leveraged human and social capital throughout the social innovation process via deep immersion in the socio-cultural milieu of India.     

收入差距、社会资本与居民贫困

研究目标：分析收入差距与社会资本及其交互作用对居民贫困的影响,并探讨两者的影响机制。研究方法：构建Logit等计量模型,并采用三阶段最小二乘法（3SLS）与工具变量法（IV Probit）进行稳健性检验。研究发现：在社区层面上,收入差距导致了教育与财政资源在区县间的配置不均等,阻碍了医疗保险制度的发展以及产业结构的提升,进而提高了居民的贫困发生率;在个体层面上,收入差距降低了居民对教育资源的可及性,恶化了居民的健康水平,从而导致居民进入贫困状态。社会资本能够降低居民发生贫困的概率,同时也能够缓解收入差距对居民贫困的不利影响;提升就业能力与收入水平、增加教育与医疗投资、改善社会经济地位、强化融资能力等是社会资本缓解贫困的主要渠道与机制。研究创新：采用具有代表性的中国家庭追踪调查数据,研究收入差距与社会资本对居民贫困的作用机制,指出社会资本是缓冲收入差距对居民贫困不利影响的重要保障。研究价值：为相关理论研究提供更多的经验证据和路径解释;在实践中,对减贫、防贫具有指导意义。     

Rural women leaders

This research project was designed to study the determinants of leadership development in rural women. The first phase of the study involved individual interviews with women recognized as leaders within a rural community. Each of the 25 rural women leaders interviewed was raised on a farm or in a community with a population smaller than 2,000. The second phase of the study was administered via Survey Monkey to 133 women using a modified version of the Review of Personal Effectiveness with Locus of control (ROPELOC) instrument, which included the key domains of interest and was expanded to include additional questions focusing on unique challenges to leadership among women living in rural communities. The project used leadership‐related community groups as an entry point to identify women across rural Kansas for the survey. The results from these two methods identified six themes: lifelong learners, bias and discrimination, self‐efficacy and overcoming barriers, community influence and social capital, leadership mentors, and expression of leadership.     

Performance of microfinance institutions in Europe—Does social capital matter?

This paper investigates performance drivers of microfinance suppliers in Europe. As such suppliers, in contrast to advanced microfinance suppliers in developing economies, typically focus on uncollateralized microcredit services to individuals at the margins of society and of labor markets, we draw on the theory of social capital and empirically investigate the role that social capital may play in the overall performance of European microfinance suppliers. We build a unique, unbalanced panel data set of 302 microfinance service providers in Europe covering the years 2008–2015, and measure their performance in terms of credit risk, financial and social performance, and efficiency. Pursuing an econometric approach, we test a series of hypotheses using various measures of conditions conducive to building social capital on both the institutional and the country level, such as the client base of a microfinance supplier and the level of cultural fractionalization in a society. Our findings confirm that a higher intensity of social capital is positively associated with all areas of the performance of microfinance suppliers in Europe. Our conclusions could help in the design and launch of microfinance institutions in those European countries in which microfinance markets are developed not at all or only to a very limited extent. Our paper thus contributes to the nascent literature on microfinance in developed economies by applying and extending the theoretical framework and empirical models on social capital and microfinance that were originally elaborated for developing economies.     

Structural social capital and knowledge acquisition: implications of cluster membership

This paper analyzes the implications of belonging to a cluster through the relationship between structural social capital and knowledge acquisition. The findings suggest structural social capital only indirectly affects knowledge acquisition through the relational and cognitive dimensions of firms’ membership of a cluster. However, the structural dimension also has a direct impact on knowledge for external firms outside a cluster. This paper contributes to the cluster literature with a better contextualization and understanding of the relationship between structural social capital and knowledge acquisition. In addition, the paper also consolidates the inter-organizational approach to social capital theory by helping to understand how and in what context social capital dimensions are interrelated. The study analyzes how firms can acquire valuable knowledge from their networks, filling the gap in the literature on how this process occurs inside and outside clusters. This works also proposes recommendations for companies and institutions, and new complementary lines of research.     

The impact of green supplier integration on firm performance: The mediating role of social capital accumulation

Although green supplier integration has received widespread attention, how it impacts various types of firm performance remains unclear. Based on social capital theory, this study explores the influence of green supplier integration on three dimensions of social capital accumulation, which further affect economic and environmental performances. To verify the hypotheses, we collect two-wave survey data from 206 Chinese manufacturers. Results show that green supplier integration significantly affects social capital accumulation. Relational and structural capital accumulations have positive effects on both economic and environmental performances, while cognitive capital accumulation only has a positive impact on environmental performance. Additionally, relational and structural capital accumulations partially mediate the effects of green supplier integration on economic and environmental performances, whereas cognitive capital accumulation only partially mediates the impact of green supplier integration on environmental performance. This research deepens the understanding of how green supplier integration influences firm performance via social capital accumulation, and provides a theoretical basis for firms attempting to enhance their performance.     

广西农村人力资本投资与农民收入的经济学浅析

知识经济时代,人力资本成为科技进步和社会经济发展的重要资源和保证,它是影响人们收入的决定性因素。目前,广西的经济建设虽然取得了巨大成就,但是在农村的人力资本投资严重滞后,导致农民收入增长缓慢。文章基于经济学视角,在前人研究的基础上,对广西农村人力资本投资与农民收入进行实证分析,得出结论：农村劳动力受教育程度与农民人均纯收入之间存在相关关系,而人力资本存量不足是导致农民收入低下的重要因素。最后,针对目前广西农村人力资本投资存在的问题提出合理的政策建议。     

企业社会资本形成机理以及实现路径研究

社会资本在现代商业社会和企业经营管理中逐渐被发现和重视,成为继物质资本、人力资本、知识资本之后被重点关注的领域,其对企业价值创造具有重要作用,对于社会资本的有效形成和利用社会资本有着极其重要研究价值和指导意义。本文回顾了企业社会本研究的理论进展和不足;分别从不同的维度分析了企业社会资本是如何形成的;选取了396家中国矿产资源类上市企业作为样本,重点检验了这些维度形成的社会资本对企业的影响;为企业开发和形成社会资本提出了若干建议。     

浦东新区极化开发的负社会外部性研究

当前中国正处于工业化和城市化加速发展时期,城市规模和数量在不断增长,对于城市未来和城市居民福利的关注,已经使人们在最近几年对于城市问题引发了许多的关注.过去人们只关注于极化开发的经济功能,而忽视极化开发造成人口大量流入、快速城市化造成的城市社会结构和城市功能结构转变引发的负社会外部性问题.本文探索了极化开发造成负社会外部性的机理,并利用人口普查资料及其它社会经济统计资料,分析浦东新区极化开发的集聚效应和负社会外部性.当前浦东新区极化开发引发的负外部性问题如社会极化、社区重组、社会隔离、就业压力已经开始显现,并对浦东新区的社会稳定和可持续发展产生一定的影响.浦东新区极化开发产生的负社会外部性问题在中国其它许多大城市也开始凸显,因此,如何最大限度地减少极化开发的负社会外部性问题应引起重视.     

A phenomenological study of corporate social responsibility in the Niger delta,Nigeria

Over the past half‐century, organization‐centric approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR) dominated management practice. Though scholars and practitioners have embraced integrative CSR models, there are insufficient data about rural community constructs of corporate social behavior. Drawing largely from primary research conducted in the Niger Delta region, this article explores the meanings communities ascribe to corporate social responsibility. Through open‐ended interviews, this article examines the subtle underlying meanings of the narratives provided by the indigenes to identify clues potentially useful for developing effective CSR programs in the Niger Delta. The findings show that the Niger Delta people frame their views about CSR through the experience of poverty, loss of the traditional economy, erosion of traditional values, and degradation of the environment. Thus, CSR is associated with the restoration of control over land, alleviation of poverty, and community development.     

Sharing my way to success: A case study on developing entrepreneurial ventures using social capital in an OSS community

While Open Source Software (OSS) communities provide opportunities for knowledge creation, we have a limited understanding of how entrepreneurs leverage OSS communities for their entrepreneurial ventures. Using social capital theory in a mixed methods case study, we compare entrepreneur and non-entrepreneur behaviors to investigate how entrepreneurs build social capital within an OSS community. This study shows that entrepreneurs differentiate themselves from non-entrepreneurs by focusing on cognitive and relational capital building activities, which in return makes it possible for them to leverage their social capital to influence and shape the environment in which they are operating. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs strategically select which activities within the community to expend their limited resources on (e.g., developing code over participating in email conversations) and build their social capital more through their actions than through their words (e.g., showing their commitment to the community through code commits, bug fixes, and documentation). Given the liabilities of newness and smallness as well as other challenges faced by entrepreneurs, applying an open innovation strategy in OSS communities could be one approach where entrepreneurs, by developing and freely revealing their intellectual property to the community, share their way to success via OSS-infused entrepreneurial business ventures.     

Antecedents and consequences of social capital on buyer performance improvement

The ability to leverage social capital within strategic buyer–supplier relationships is increasingly cited as a key driver of value creation. Despite the importance of strategic partnerships, the process by which social capital accumulates within buyer–supplier relationships and contributes to buyer performance improvements is not well understood. Drawing on social capital theory, we develop a model linking positive relational capital, and its antecedents, supplier integration and supplier closeness, to buyer performance improvements. Further, we hypothesize that structural capital, as reflected in managerial communication and technical exchanges, is also positively related to buyer performance improvements. Using data provided by 111 procurement executives from the United Kingdom, we find support for our hypotheses. The study extends the supply chain management and social capital literature and suggests important implications for both research and practice.     

Primary-school class composition and the development of social capital

We study the development of social capital through adult civic engagement, in relation to social capital exposure having occurred during childhood based on experiences outside the family at primary school. We assume that the types of classmates in attendance at a child's school would have influenced her/his social capital. To identify the types of classmates, we take advantage of the heterogeneity in the ability levels of British primary-school classes during the 1960s. At that time, some schools were practicing a method of streaming, whereas others were not. Using British National Child Development data, we construct a single score of civic engagement and evaluate the effect on adult civic engagement of attending homogeneous-ability classes versus nonhomogeneous-ability classes and being in high-, average- or low-ability classes when enrolled in streamed schools. Our results show that children who were grouped in homogeneous-ability classes developed a lower interest in civic engagement than their peers who attended mixed-ability classes (nonstreamed schools). Moreover, among children who attended streamed schools, a lower attitude toward civic engagement was observed among low-ability students. Thus, streaming appears to be detrimental to social capital development, especially for low-ability individuals.     

社会工作在基层治理专业化中的角色与功能

近年来,我国对居民社区建设的重视度不断提升,社区公共服务团队也在不断壮大,在国家政策的实施以及广大社区管理中,社区管理机构发挥着十分关键的作用。随着城乡居民生活水平的不断提升,传统的管理模式与基层治理手段已经落后,难以满足社区发展与民众生活的多元化以及专业化需求,因此,在社区治理中,融入专业性社会工作已经成为大势所趋。论文结合社会工作参与乡村振兴建设战略所进行的一系列工作,探究社会工作在基层治理专业化道路上扮演的角色,指出社会工作在基层治理专业化中的功能,阐明当前社区治理中的问题,探索促进基层社区治理可持续发展的道路。     

基于流动人口特征的首都人口疏解与管控

流动人口的迁移行为是多种因素共同作用的结果,关于人口迁移的政策制定应建立在对流动人口特征及变化趋势的深入了解基础之上。在京流动人口以劳动年龄人口为主,对于增加劳动力供给和缓解老龄化压力做出了显著的贡献。多数流动人口在京居住依赖租房,房租是导致其生活成本日益上升的重要因素;流动人口的社会融入程度较低,尤其城乡接合部地区社会隔离现象较为显著,大量流动人口未能有效融入现代城市的生产生活体系。首都的人口管控与城市治理是一个系统工程,既要通过“控”“收”联动,加强人口的有序流动,也要疏解与引导相结合,使流动人口的结构与行为更符合首都发展的需要。