RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Social capital in cooperatives: A typology and influence on performance
A1 Román Cervantes, Cándido
A1 García Pérez, Ana María
A1 González Dávila, Enrique
A1 Yanes Estévez, Vanessa
A2 Dirección de Empresas e Historia Económica
A2 Catedra Cajasiete de Economía Social y Cooperativa
K1 social capital
K1 social networks
K1 social enterprise
K1 cooperatives
K1 performance
AB One of the distinctive characteristics of cooperatives is their social capital. This article contributes to the literature by proposing a classification of cooperatives according to their social capital: internal social networks (relationships between their members, and between their members and their managers) and/or external social networks (relationships with customers, other cooperatives, institutions etc.).  The sample comprised managers from 50 agrifood cooperatives located in the Canary Islands (Spain) who answered a questionnaire designed on the basis of the existing literature. Descriptive statistics such as means and non-parametric test (Pearson's Chi-square test) were used to process the information. The largest group of cooperatives developed strong internal and external social networks (i.e., a broad social network). The second group was the opposite: social networks were weak internally as well as externally (the so-called narrow social network). The results also showed that when cooperatives developed only one type of network, they focused on a strong internal network (asymmetric internal social network).  The only difference in the performance of cooperatives depending on their social network was observed in cooperatives with an asymmetric external social network. Such cooperatives had a better public image than their competitors.
SN 2071-789X
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/40231
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/40231
LA en
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 03-ene-2025