Disentangling the relationship between nonprofit and social capital: the role of social cooperatives and social welfare associations in the development of networks of strong and weak ties

Giacomo, Degli Antoni and Fabio, Sabatini (2013): Disentangling the relationship between nonprofit and social capital: the role of social cooperatives and social welfare associations in the development of networks of strong and weak ties.

Abstract

We use a unique dataset to study how participation in two specific types of nonprofit organizations, i.e. social welfare associations and social cooperatives, affects individual social capital. A descriptive analysis shows that both the types of organization have a positive impact. The econometric analysis reveals that social welfare associations play a significantly greater role in the development of volunteers’ networks of cooperative relationships, favouring the creation of weak ties which are used to exchange information and advice, and offering the opportunity to establish stronger ties entailing concrete mutual support. Within social cooperatives, workers develop their individual social capital to a greater extent than volunteers.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: volunteering, nonprofit organizations, cooperative enterprises, social cooperatives, social capital, social networks
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L31 - Nonprofit Institutions ; NGOs ; Social Entrepreneurship; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L33 - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprises and Nonprofit Institutions ; Privatization ; Contracting Out; P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems > P13 - Cooperative Enterprises; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology

References

Becchetti, L., Pelloni, A., Rossetti, F. (2008). Relational Goods, Sociability, and Happiness. Kyklos 61 (3), 343-363.

Beugelsdijk, S., Van Schaik, T. (2005). Social capital and growth in European regions: an empirical test. European Journal of Political Economy 21 (2), 301-324.

Birchall, J. 2010. People-centred businesses: co-operatives, mutuals and the idea of membership. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Borzaga, C. (1996). Social Cooperatives and Work Integration in Italy. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 67 (2), 209-234.

Borzaga, C., Solari, L. (2001). Management Challenges for Social Enterprises. In Borzaga, C., Defourny, J. (eds). The Emergence of Social Enterprise. London and New York: Routledge.

Borzaga, C., Spear, R. (eds) (2004). Trends and Challenges for co-operatives and social enterprises in developed and transition countries. Trento: Edizioni 31.

Brown, T. T., Scheffler, R. M., Seo, S., Reed, M. (2006). The empirical relationship between community social capital and the demand for cigarettes. Health Economics 15, 1159–1172.

Bruni, L., Stanca, L. (2008). Watching alone: Relational goods, television and happiness. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 65 (3-4), 506-528.

Christoforou, A. (2010). Social capital and human development: an empirical investigation across European countries. Journal of Institutional Economics 6 (2), 191-214.

Coffé, H., Geys, B. (2007). Participation in bridging and bonding associations and civic attitudes: evidence from the Flanders. Voluntas 18, 385-399.

Dasgupta, P. (2012). New Frontiers of Cooperation in the Economy. Journal of Entpreneurial and Organizational Diversity 1(1), 1-20.

Defourny, J., Nyssens, M. (2006). Defining social enterprise. In Nyssens, M. (Ed.). Social Enterprise. London and New York: Routledge.

Degli Antoni G. (2009), Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivations to Volunteer and Social Capital Formation, Kyklos, 62(3), pp.359-370.

Degli Antoni G., Sacconi, L. (2009), A theoretical analysis of the relationship between social capital and corporate social responsibility: concepts and definitions, in Sacchetti S. and Sugden R. (eds), Knowledge in the Development of Economies. Institutional Choices under Globalisation, Edward Elgar.

Dow, G. K. (2003) Governing the Firm: workers’ control in theory and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook "friends:" Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (4), article 1.

Evers, A. (2001) ‘The Significance of Social Capital in the Multiple Goal and Resource Structure of Social Enterprises’, in Borzaga, C. and Defourny, J. (eds) The Emergence of Social Enterprise, London, New York: Routledge, 296–311.

European Commission (2005). The Contribution of Social Capital in the Social Economy to Local Economic Development in Western Europe. EU Research in Social Sciences and Humanities. Final Report. Brussels: European Commission.

Fiorillo, D., Sabatini, F. (2011). Quality and quantity: the role of social interactions in individual health. Social Science and Medicine, 73, 1644-1652.

Folland, S. (2006). Value of life and behavior toward health risks: an interpretation of social capital. Health Economics 15 (2), 159–171.

Grießhaber, N., Geys, B. (2012). Civic Engagement and Corruption in 20 European Democracies, European Societies, 14(1): 57-81.

Grootaert, C., van Bastelaer, T. (2001). Understanding and Measuring Social Capital: A Synthesis and Findings from the Social Capital Initiative. Social Capital Initiative Working Paper 24. World Bank, Washington DC.

Grootaert, C., van Bastelaer, T. (eds) (2001). The Role of Social Capital in Development: an Empirical Assessment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Guiso, L., Sapienza, P., Zingales, L. (2008). Alfred Marshall Lecture: Social Capital as Good Culture. Journal of the European Economic Association. 6 (2-3), 295-320.

Guiso, L., Sapienza, P., Zingales, L. (2009). Cultural Biases in Economic Exchange? The Quarterly Journal of Economics 124 (3), 1095-1131.

Hooghe, M. (1998). Voluntary Associations and Democratic Attitudes: Value Congruence as a Causal Mechanism. In: Hooghe, M., Stolle, D. (Eds). Generating Social Capital. Civil Society and Institutions in Comparative Perspective. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Hulgård, L., Spears, R. (2006). Social entrepreneurship and the mobilization of social capital in European social enterprises. In: Nyssens, M. (Ed.). Social Enterprise. London and New York: Routledge.

Iglič, H. (2010). Voluntary Associations and Tolerance: An Ambiguous Relationship. American Behavioral Scientist 53 (5), 717-736.

Istat (2003). Le Organizzazioni di Volontariato in Italia. Rome: Istat.

Istat (2005). Le Cooperative Sociali in Italia. Rome: Istat. Kawachi I., Kennedy B. P., Lochner K., Prothrow-Stith D. (1997). Social capital, income inequality, and mortality. American Journal of Public Health, 87 (9), 1491-1498.

Knack, S. (2003). Groups, Growth and Trust: Cross-Country Evidence on theOlson and Putnam Hypotheses. Public Choice 117, 341–355.

Knack, S., Keefer, P. (1997). Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? The Quarterly Journal of Economics 112 (4), 1251-1288.

Laville, J.-L., Nyssens, M. (2001). The Social Enterprise. Towards a Theoretical Socio-economic Approach. In: Borzaga, C., Defourny, J. (Eds). The Emergence of Social Enterprise. London and New York: Routledge, 312–32.

OECD (2010). Social Capital, Human Capital and Health: What is the Evidence? OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. Paris: OECD.

Olson, M. (1982). The Rise and Decline of Nations. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Paxton, P. (2002). Social capital and democracy: An interdependent relationship, American Sociological Review, 67, 254-277.

Putnam. R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Putnam, R. D., Leonardi, R., Nanetti, R. Y. (1993). Making Democracy Work. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Robison, L. J., Siles, M. E., Jin, S. (2011). Social capital and the distribution of household income in the United States: 1980, 1990, and 2000. Journal of Socio-Economics 40 (5), 538–547.

Sabatini, F. (2008). Social Capital and the Quality of Economic Development. Kyklos, 61 (3), 466-499.

Sabatini, F., Modena, F., Tortia, E. (2012). Do cooperative enterprises create social trust? EERI Research Paper N. 2012_10, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute, Brussels.

Sangnier, M. (2012). Does Trust Favor Macroeconomic Stability? Aix-Marseille School of Economics, AMSE Working Papers n. 1227.

Steinfield, C., Ellison, N., Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29 (6), 434-445.

Stiglitz, J. (2009). Moving beyond market fundamentalism to a more balanced economy. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 80 (3), 345-360.

Stolle, D., Rochon, T. S. (1998). Are All Associations Alike? American Behavioral Scientist 42 (1), 47-65.

Svendsen, G.L.H., Svendsen, G.T. (2000). Measuring Social Capital: The Danish Co-operative Dairy Movement. Sociologia Ruralis 40(1), 72-86.

Thomas, A. (2004). The Rise of Social Cooperatives in Italy. Voluntas: International Journal ofVoluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 15(3), 243-263.

Uphoff N. (1999). Understanding Social Capital: Learning from the Analysis and Experience of Participation. In Dasgupta P., Serageldin I. (Eds.), Social Capital: A Multifaceted Perspective. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Westlund, H., Gawell, M. (2012). Building Social Capital for Social Entrepreneurship. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 83 (1), 101-116.

Wollebæk, D., Selle, P. (1998). The Importance of Passive Membership for Social Capital Formation. In: Hooghe, M., Stolle, D. (Eds). Generating Social Capital. Civil Society and Institutions in Comparative Perspective. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Zak, P. J., Knack, S. (2001). Trust and Growth. The Economic Journal 111 (470), 295-321.

Zamagni, S., Zamagni, V. (2010). Cooperative Enterprise: Facing the Challenge of Globalization. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.