Capabilities and Constraints

Sen’s capability approach emphasises the importance of freedom and choice in leading the life that one values. This paper seeks to argue that, nonetheless, the capability approach is fully cognisant of the constraints that restrict individuals from achieving capabilities. Since the achievement of capabilities is set within a social context, and also because the constraints to capability-achievement are often of a social nature, it is useful to keep in mind the social context. An account of the capability approach that places adequate stress on the constraints that confront individuals and the institutional context will describe their situation more accurately; it will also be of more use for policy purposes.     

Capabilities and Constraints

Sen’s capability approach emphasises the importance of freedom and choice in leading the life that one values. This paper seeks to argue that, nonetheless, the capability approach is fully cognisant of the constraints that restrict individuals from achieving capabilities. Since the achievement of capabilities is set within a social context, and also because the constraints to capability-achievement are often of a social nature, it is useful to keep in mind the social context. An account of the capability approach that places adequate stress on the constraints that confront individuals and the institutional context will describe their situation more accurately; it will also be of more use for policy purposes.     

小微企业如何提升信息沟通绩效——基于社会化客户关系管理能力与社交媒体可见度的研究

小微企业将社交媒体视为可用资源进行信息沟通的能力,将有力改善公众对其社会存在性的感知。本文就此提出社交媒体可见度这个信息沟通绩效目标,并以资源基础观和能力基础观为理论基础,确认了一个新的客户关系管理能力的分析框架——面向社会化客户的信息生成、信息传播和信息响应能力的三维六要素模型。通过问卷调查和收集实际运营数据展开定量分析,研究发现提升小微企业社交媒体可见度的客户关系管理能力分别为：经常性生成信息的能力、基于奖励的信息传播能力、基于服务的信息响应能力;并且,基于内容的信息响应能力也在多项检验中具有显著性。调节效应还显示,年轻企业主经营的小微企业,其社会化客户关系管理能力对可见度的促进作用更强。本文探讨了小微企业在网络经济下的社交媒体行为,对于提升小微企业生存能力具有重要实践意义。     

The Capabilities Conception of the Individual 1

This paper advances a capabilities conception of the individual, and considers some of the problems involved in developing such a conception. It also makes claims about the nature of the capability space as a whole, frames personal development in terms of the idea of moving though the capability space, and argues that people are alike in being increasingly heterogeneous. A key problem for a capabilities conception of the individual is that some capabilities, such as belonging to social groups and having social identities, can undermine individuality. The paper discusses an example in which people can have social identities but can nonetheless be relatively independent when seen as self-organizing. Brief comments on one goal of social economic policy as being identity-promoting conclude the paper.     

DEVELOPMENT AS EMPOWERMENT

Amartya Sen's capability approach to human welfare recognizes the impact of social institutions on human capabilities. But as an evaluative framework, it does not analyze the role of institutionalized power in causing or perpetuating inequalities in individual opportunities to achieve. Drawing on authors who are receptive to the capability approach and who have examined the political aspects of advancing human capabilities, this paper presents a view of social power and its exercise that is congruent with the capability approach. This examination of power continues the exploration of intergroup relationships that Sen has advocated, and it can be expected to yield new criteria for policy evaluation as well as new policy options.     

社会创业导向、知识管理能力与NPO绩效的关系

以知识管理能力作为中介变量,将非营利组织(nonprofit organizations,NPO)的绩效分解为社会绩效和财务绩效,构建了社会创业导向与NPO绩效关联的理论模型。利用针对158家NPO所做的问卷调查的数据,借助结构方程建模等对理论模型进行实证分析。结果表明:社会创业导向、知识管理能力对NPO的社会绩效和财务绩效均有显著的正向影响;知识管理能力在社会创业导向与NPO的社会绩效和财务绩效的关系中分别具有部分中介作用和完全中介作用。     

数字经济产业园区企业网络嵌入、数字化能力与开放式创新

以社会网络理论、动态能力理论等为理论基础,研究数字经济产业园区企业网络嵌入对开放式创新的影响。研究发现：网络嵌入显著正向影响数字经济产业园区企业开放式创新。机制分析表明,网络嵌入通过影响数字化能力进而提升数字经济产业园区企业开放式创新水平。进一步讨论发现,网络嵌入的子维度关系性网络嵌入对数字化能力的三个子维度数字感知能力、数字化运营能力、数字资源协同能力具有显著的正向影响;网络嵌入的子维度结构性网络嵌入对数字化能力的子维度数字感知能力和数字化运营能力具有显著的正向影响,但对数字资源整合能力的影响并不显著。本文对于数字经济产业园区构建协同共生网络生态,提高园区企业网络嵌入程度,进而培育和构建数字化能力,提高区域开放式创新水平提供了理论基础和一定的实践指导。     

Gender Differences in Italian Children's Capabilities

This paper analyzes children's well-being using the capability approach, with a special focus on gender differences. The two areas analyzed are the capability of senses, imagination, and thought; and the capability of play. Using data from the 2008 Multipurpose Survey on Daily Life released by the Italian National Institute of Statistics, a structural equation model is estimated in which the capabilities are defined as latent variables that are intrinsically interrelated. For each capability, a set of indicators of functionings is utilized and the effects of individual and social conversion factors – including parents’ unpaid work, their level of education, and employment status – are analyzed. The model is applied to Italian girls and boys ages 6–10 in 2008. The analysis confirms that the two capabilities are interrelated. Policies aimed at improving children's achievements in education also improve the capability of play and vice versa. Differences by gender occur in the factors’ effects.     

虚拟社区社会资本的商业价值——基于广义虚拟经济的视角

网络中广泛存在的虚拟社区为人们提供了交流与共享的虚拟空间,在虚拟社区成员间的互动与沟通过程中,将形成一种非实物资本——社会资本.社会资本理论从三个维度上对此进行了阐释:结构维度、关系维度和认知维度.在社会化营销迅速发展的今天,虚拟社区中的社会资本也逐渐彰显出其商业价值.本文将结合社会资本理论与广义虚拟经济相关理论,以网络团购为例,对虚拟社区中社会资本对商品价值和交易活动的影响进行分析.     

Book Reviews

The evaluative function of local public actors has been exacerbated in recent years with the individualisation of social policies. One of their tasks is to select the appropriate informational basis in order to assess welfare claimants. Amartya Sen's capability approach offers a theoretical and normative framework to analyse this evaluative function. In particular, it insists on the importance of “objectivating” people's preferences with reference to their capabilities. The weight that is to be attached to individual preferences in the course of public action can be a matter of controversy. Claimants “capability for voice”, we argue, should be developed. This capability refers to their effective possibility to express their concerns with regard to the choice of the informational basis. It is argued that local institutions prohibiting capability for voice will produce adaptive preferences, whereas procedural institutions promoting reflexive public evaluation and capability for voice will result in a fairer wording of individual preferences. At a situated level, the way to connect subjective and objective information when assessing people very much depends on the position of the evaluator. Several illustrations show that the fairness of evaluation, and its impact on the people's capability set, depend on this positional perspective.     

联盟组合多样性中的创新价值获取——搜索惯例和社会资本的作用

根据资源基础理论和动态能力理论,采用问卷调查法,对联盟组合多样性中创新价值的获取进行了深入的研究.探讨了联盟组合多样性与企业创新绩效的关系,分析了搜索惯例在二者关系中的中介作用及社会资本的调节作用.研究结果表明:联盟组合多样性与企业创新绩效呈非线性倒U型关系;搜索惯例在联盟组合多样性与企业创新绩效之间起中介作用;结构型社会资本和关系型社会资本均正向调节联盟组合多样性与搜索惯例之间的倒U型关系和上述中介作用.其中,关系型社会资本在两种调节效应中的作用都更强.     

The Organizational Approach of Capability Theory

Abstract

Richard Langlois, Tony Yu & Paul Robertson (LYR) (2003) have assembled a collection of previously published papers that move beyond textbook production theory. This essay discusses work by Frank Knight and Hendrik Houthakker not reproduced in LYR in relation to the capability theory of economic organization. Knight identified the problem of organization as the search for and the coordination of different dispersed capabilities. Houthakker helps us to see more clearly that the benefits of specialization are not brought at zero cost; whatever is the governance structure employed, there will inevitably be coordination costs due to differences in capabilities.     

数字化情境下创业动态能力有效前因组态研究

为探究数字化情境下创业动态能力前因变量协同作用机制,以江浙沪地区初创企业为研究对象,采用fsQCA和NCA方法,探讨先前经验、社会网络、创业学习和数字技术对创业动态能力的影响路径与作用机制。研究发现,数字化情境下创业动态能力存在多种前因组态,其中高创业机会能力存在数据驱动型、主观能动型、经验基础型3种组态,非高创业机会能力存在数据缺位型、经验缺失型、主动不足型3种组态,高创业资源能力存在数据助力型、传统模式型、主观能动型3种组态,非高创业资源能力存在数据缺位型、学习不足型、网络欠缺型3种组态;另外,数字技术和创业学习是高创业机会能力的重要前因变量,数字技术和网络行为是高创业资源能力的重要前因变量。研究结论有助于拓展数字技术创业和创业动态能力相关研究,对于提升数字技术能力、指导数字创业实践具有一定启示意义。     

Conditional factors Pushing catch-up across developed and emerging countries in the nanotechnology sector, 2000–2010

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to test national and sectorial technological and innovation capability factors, as well as social capability indicators, which could explain a possible conditional convergence across countries in nanotechnology within the context of a model of innovative technological knowledge β convergence. Based on growth convergence models, our proposal also takes into account the Schumpeterian theory, the National System Innovation –NSI– approach, and particularly the sectorial system of innovation and the technological catch-up hypothesis, as well as theoretical and empirical literature on conditional convergence. The findings allow us to confirm that new nanotechnology knowledge convergence is conditioned by a higher growth rate of technological capabilities in nanotechnology: growth from the initial level of patents granted, cumulative knowledge, and links to technological and scientific activities. Finally, as regards social capabilities, only the institutional weakness variable (corruption index) associates negatively with β convergence. As an emergent paradigm, we realize that convergence and catch-up are starting processes, which could allow less technologically developed countries to benefit from higher growth of some of the factors identified.     

网络能力、主动组织遗忘与前摄式商业模式创新

基于社会网络和组织行为理论,以高新技术企业高管为调查对象,实证分析了企业网络能力与前摄式商业模式创新的关系,以及主动组织遗忘的中介作用与环境动态性的调节作用。结果发现：①网络关系管理能力和网络配置能力都对前摄式商业模式创新具有显著正向作用;②主动组织遗忘在网络关系管理能力与前摄式商业模式创新间具有完全中介作用,而在网络配置能力与前摄式商业模式创新中具有部分中介作用;③环境动态性正向调节网络关系管理能力与前摄式商业模式创新的关系,而在网络配置能力与前摄式商业模式创新间不存在调节作用。     

The Bourdieusian Conception of Social Capital: A Methodological Reflection and Application

This paper is on social capital and the meaning that Bourdieu has given to this concept in his Notes provisoires, published in 1980. He considered social capital as one of the most important forms of capital, along with economic capital and cultural capital. Even though he did not propose an explicit measure of social capital, so it remained in a conceptual state, he promoted an innovative research programme. Our contribution is to propose a generic method to empirically measure and test hypotheses on social capital, based on Bourdieu's work. We aim at creating an analytical framework that places this concept at the centre of the Bourdieusian theoretical approach. For this purpose, we combine two sociological tools that relate to two different sociological traditions, namely social network analysis and multiple correspondence analyses. Thus, our paper describes the ways to combine field and network analyses, and illustrates this with an empirical study.     

Beyond Regulation: Towards a Cultural Political Economy of Complexity and Emergence

Drawing on and contributing to materialist state theory, the regulation approach and institutional economics for more than three decades, Bob Jessop can certainly be considered one of the foremost Marxist political economists of our time. Recently, he has taken on board the cultural turn in social analysis by developing a highly original cultural political economy of the knowledge-based economy. As a contribution to the further development of a cultural political economy that is sensitive to the cultural dimensions of social life while retaining an emphasis on capital accumulation and state regulation, this article directs attention to the limits of Jessop's approach and suggests possible amendments to the theory. In particular, the article highlights the need to move beyond a concern with regulation towards a cultural political economy of complexity and emergence.     

Social capital,knowledge sharing,and innovation capability: an empirical study of R&D teams in Iran

Effectively encouraging employees to share valuable knowledge can increase and sustain a firm's competitive advantages. This study adopted an integrated approach to understand casual relationships among knowledge sharing (KS) enablers (social capital factors), mechanism of forming KS behaviours (knowledge collecting and knowledge donating) through individuals’ KS intention, and KS outcome (innovation capability) within research and development teams. The research model was developed by reviewing literature and tested with survey data collected from 230 employees in multiple companies in Iran. Results of partial least squares analysis indicated that social interaction ties (as a structural capital factor), trust, reciprocity, and team identification (as relational capital factors) significantly associated with KS intention. KS intention, in turn, was significantly related to KS behaviours (knowledge colleting and knowledge donating). In addition, findings revealed that members’ willingness to collect and donate knowledge can affect team innovation capability. This study also discusses the implications for fostering social capital and KS behaviours to enhance team innovation capability.     

The Economic Contributions of Amartya Sen

This paper examines the major economic contributions of Amartya Sen. Sen's contributions fall into three main areas: a philosophical critique of traditional economic assumptions, an attempt to build a more realistic economic science based on the notion of entitlements and human capabilities, and a long series of practical contributions to welfare economics that follow from the capabilities approach - how to measure poverty and inequality better, how to understand famine and hunger, the importance of gender in economic development, and the differences between economic development and economic growth. The paper concludes with a brief assessment of the significance of Sen's work.