Effect of social capital on agribusiness diversification intention in the emerging market

Abstract

PurposeCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has seriously affected the global economy. How agribusinessmen are overcoming this crisis is being noticed in emerging markets. Using social capital to diversify agribusiness for getting more customers is a useful solution for the growth of agribusiness. However, there is a lack of evidence on the aggregate measurement scale of social capital and the influence of behavioral goals on the intention toward agribusiness diversification. Therefore, this study aims to develop an integrated measurement of social capital and investigate its effect on agribusiness diversification intention using the expanded theory of planned behavior (TPB).Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods approach is used, including four in-depth interviews, three focus group discussions and two surveys. Structural equation modeling is applied to a sample of 484 respondents to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe study shows the role of social capital in influencing the intention to diversify agribusiness under the premises of the resource-based view (RBV). The scale of social capital is also developed, which is the first integrated measurement of this asset. The findings contribute significantly to the existing knowledge of social capital, the TPB and diversifying agribusiness.Originality/valueThis is the first study to explore the comprehensive effect of the facets of social capital on behavioral intention through behavioral goals and determinants of the TPB under the premises of the RBV. The findings will help emerging economies, for example, Vietnam, where most farmers are family business owners or microscaled entrepreneurs in agriculture.

Sustainable agribusiness entrepreneurship during the Covid-19 crisis: the role of social capital

“…subjective norms, attitude and PBC) contends that behavioral intention is a key factor in predicting a specific behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Specifically, some scholars have recently found that these TPB determinants have positive effects on sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial behavioral intentions (Vuorio et al, 2018), social entrepreneurship intentions (Tan et al, 2021) and agribusiness diversification intentions (Lang et al, 2021a). Thus, we argue that if agricultural entrepreneurs' attitude toward sustainable development through organic farming practices is positive, they can also have SAE intention.…”

“…The literature shows the existence of most measurements of the constructs, except for the measure of SAE intentions. Nevertheless, the measurements will benefit from a mixedmethods research design due to different contexts (Lang et al, 2021a), in which the qualitative method provides a richer understanding (Creswell, 2002), while the quantitative approach brings rigorous tests of measurements and hypotheses (Srnka and Koeszegi, 2007). So, a deep understanding will come from a mixed-methods approach (Arora and Stoner, 2009;Lang et al, 2022).…”

“…Scholars have indicated that TPB is the most widely accepted and ideal behavioral intentionspredicted model (Liñ an and Chen, 2009;Zhang and Cain, 2017), specifically for agribusiness (Lapple and Kelley, 2013;Lang et al, 2021a) and sustainable development (Elhoushy and Lanzini, 2021). The TPB model with its determinants (i.e.…”

“…Besides, social capital has three dimensions: cognitive, relational and structural (Lang et al, 2021a), wherein the structural dimension is the antecedent of two other dimensions (Lan and Luc, 2020;Lang et al, 2021b). However, the COVID-19 crisis has caused many places to drop into lockdown.…”

Exploring human resource work design, learning mechanism and TQM: through the lens of activity theory and contextual learning theory

“…For redesigning work, it is advisable to incorporate work elements that have been extended through our analysis (section 5) and theoretical contribution (section 6). The application should consider how the HRD managers or other managers find themselves in manufacturing alone or clubbed with service orientation (Lang et al, 2021a(Lang et al, , 2021b. Further, collaborative HRD practices (Chen et al, 2021) must cater to work roles that are becoming complex (Lee and Lee, 2018).…”