Examines social capital as a theoretic construct with the potential to enhance our understanding of public relations contribution to the organizational bottom line. There are three classes of outcomes: increased and/or more complex forms of social capital, reduced transaction costs, and organizational advantage. Like economic capital, social capital is not always used wisely and can produce negative consequences for actors.
Two studies into the use and perceived utility of remedial strategies for coping with embarrassing predicaments are reported. In both studies, subjects were presented with two scenarios depicting embarrassing situations: one representing a loss of poise, and the other representing an inappropriate indentity display. In the first study, subjects rated four researcher-supplied strategies in terms of appropriateness, effectiveness, and satisfaction to others. In study two, subjects generated their own strategies for remediating embarrassment and rated them on the same criteria. Excuse and justification were not common or preferred strategies while apology and remediation were highly preferred. Females regarded more deferential strategies (e.g. excuse, apology) as more appropriate than did males. Males and females did not differ, however, in their reported use of strategies. In addition, the perceived appropriateness and effectiveness of strategies was found to vary as a function of the type of embarrassment.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between social capital, transaction costs, and organizational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach -The study is based on a survey of 176 employees of a high-tech manufacturer of electronics located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The survey included three self-report measures: social capital, transaction costs, and organizational outcomes. Self-report items were used to measure three dimensions of social capital: structure, relationships, and communication. Transaction cost items measured information exchange, problem solving, conflict management, and behavior regulation. Questions measuring organizational outcomes included quality, change, equity, and fairness. Findings -The central finding of this research is the significant association between social capital and both transaction costs and organizational outcomes. As expected, trust served as a predictor of both transaction costs and organizational outcomes. In addition, the social capital components of access, timing, and network ties were significantly associated with transaction costs and organizational outcomes.Research limitations/implications -The items used to measure the communication dimension of social capital did not demonstrate sufficient reliability to be entered into the analysis. Practical implications -The results suggest an alternative approach to considering the connection between communication management and organizational achievement. This approach, also, theoretically centralizes communication and communication related concerns as foundational for social capital analysis. Originality/value -This study offers a valuable alternative theoretic approach to understanding the impact of communication on organizational affairs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.