Interorganizational Cooperation and Social Capital Formation among Social Enterprises and Social Economy Organizations: A Case Study from the Region of Attica, Greece

Abstract

Measuring social capital has been a challenging task over the past few decades, and, still, many of its dimensions and manifestations have not been thoroughly or evidently explored. The possible causes may be the ever-changing evolutionary perspectives that take place within the various levels of analysis—micro, meso, and macro—or within the various settings, where some of its core dimensions—bonding, bridging, and linking—are developed, or even among the contexts where its core determinants and features—trust, norms, connections, ties, etc.—are observed. Having in mind the various streams of research and theoretical discourses on social capital formation, this paper aims to surface the identification of the possible evidence on the formation of social capital among social economy organizations, and particularly among social enterprises. In doing so, it aims to explore the relational and cognitive features that drive social enterprises in their interorganizational cooperation with other social enterprises and third-sector organizations. The findings suggest that the central components of social capital, such as the sharing of common values, trust, reciprocity, and trustworthiness, are among those features that were valued most among the participants in the survey during their cooperation and engagement in common activities with other organizations.

Examining The Effects of Technology Adoption, Cultural Values, Social Capital, and Government Policies on Entrepreneurial Success and Social Impact in Indonesia

“…Three indicators are used to evaluate social capital: the depth and strength of commercial relationships with third parties, membership in industry or business communities, and engagement in philanthropic and social endeavors. This literature is increasing in support of these indicators (Cockburn & Cockburn-Wootten, 2022;Oudeniotis & Tsobanoglou, 2022;Stasa & Machek, 2022).…”

Social Capital, Trust, and Cultivation of Bioenergy Crops: Evidence from Germany and Greece

“…Similarly, Ezezika et al [58] report that the successful partnership of agricultural biotechnology in Burkina Faso depended on strong collaboration between research, industry, and farmers, fostered by trust. The significance of collaboration and networking as a form of social capital is further evidenced in examples such as the reduction of contracting costs and increased efficiency via trustworthy relations in rural agro-enterprises in Colombia [59], on local development among Local Action Groups in Italy (Nardone et al [60]), farmers' innovation adoption in China [61], the sustainability of producers' company in India [46], the de-risking innovation adoption among Ghana coca farmers [62], and even a positive element in interorganizational cooperation [63] and revitalization of farmers' homestead [64]. In contrast, Kasabov [65] turns to issues of trust, mistrust, and trustworthiness among members of Welsh rural cooperatives in order to explain failures in performance.…”

New Model for Quantifying the Impact of the Social Economy on Water Resources’ Sustainability

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“…The strongest correlations are for the construction sector and Arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities; activities of household and extra-territorial organizations and bodies. The definition of this hypothesis is also based on the results of research carried out by Alfano; Beausaert et al; Chetty et al; Dell et al; Oudeniotis and Tsobanoglou(Alfano, 2022;Beausaert et al, 2021; Chetty et al, 2022b;Dell et al, 2022;Oudeniotis & Tsobanoglou, 2022). H6.…”