Voluntary Associations' Impact on the Composition of Active Members' Social Networks: Not an Either/Or Matter

Abstract

Membership in voluntary associations is often assumed to have a homogenizing or diversifying impact on the social composition of members' personal relations. In this study, we examine these assertions empirically in a sample (n = 818) comprising active members of voluntary associations in a typical midsized Swedish community. We investigate whether people whom active members of voluntary associations have met through their voluntary activities are more or less likely to share their social characteristics than people whom they have met elsewhere. Our results show that acquaintances whom our respondents have acquired within voluntary associations are less likely to share several of their significant social characteristics than other members of their personal networks, but more likely to reside in their vicinity than others. Consequently, our results give fairly robust support to the "integrating hypothesis" according to which voluntary associations contribute to the social diversification of their members' personal networks. We do, however, emphasize the principally important aspects of our results, according to which relations acquired through involvement in voluntary associations may have simultaneously homogenizing and diversifying effects on individuals' personal networks. Furthermore, the effect may also depend on the specific dimension(s) of the networks under consideration.

Effects of smartphone use and recall aids on network name generator questions

“…Similarly, respondents who practiced more sports were more likely to report more friends. This finding is supported by previous research that found larger social networks among people who were members of voluntary organizations (Farkas and Lindberg, 2015;Putnam, 2000;Rotolo, 2000).…”

“…Those measures had been collected in a welcome survey, shortly after the registration of each new panel member. The requested indicators had been found to correlate with social network size in previous studies: employment status (Edin et al, 2003;Munshi, 2003), living in an urban or rural area (Oliver, 2000;Remmer, 2010), the number of medical conditions (Michael et al, 1999;Schaefer et al, 1981), and participating in voluntary organizations (Farkas and Lindberg, 2015;Putnam, 2000;Rotolo, 2000), which we tried to measure with the number of team sports respondents exercised.…”

“…Likewise, people with a good health seem to have larger networks than those suffering from medical conditions (Michael et al, 1999;Schaefer et al, 1981). Moreover, some studies found that members of voluntary associations have larger social networks than people who are not members of such associations (Farkas and Lindberg, 2015;Putnam, 2000;Rotolo, 2000; but see Bekkers et al, 2008 who found no effect). Additional research has shown that inhabitants of urban areas are less likely to participate in voluntary association and show less community engagement (Oliver, 2000;Remmer, 2010).…”

Social Relationships: The Secret Ingredient of Synergistic Venture Cooperation

“…A good or bad personal relationship among managers from both parties is one of the reasons which determine whether the alliance is efficient or not (p. 324) Chen and Pan (2009) Informal SR (also known as informal relations) Sousa (2005) The identified definitions emphasize complex social norms and mutual obligations (Serra, 2011), common values and common interests (Mikkola, 2008;Tucker, 2010) connecting individuals. Importantly, SR are also characterized by the awareness of the need to comply with these norms, obligations, interests, values or awareness of being a member of a given group (Farkas & Lindberg, 2015). Also, it should be noted that SR are related to elements of social and/or cultural anthropology (such as shared ethnic identity, language, religion, the history of people involved in the relationship, and the above-mentioned cultural and social norms) because they are usually based on kinship and/or a common place of residence (Farkas & Lindberg, 2015).…”

Cooperative Membership and Community Engagement: Findings From a Latin American Survey

“…Numerous scholars have identified positive relationships between affiliation with voluntary associations and members’ political and/or civic engagement beyond their organizations (Beck and Jennings ; Coleman ; Flap ; Kwak, Shah, and Holbert ; Pollock ; Walker ). Despite a disagreement on the strength of the relationship due to the type and the number of organizations that people are affiliated with (Farkas and Lindberg ; Glanville ), the general argument is that when people are involved in voluntary associations, they are likely to participate in political or social affairs beyond their organizations because they acquire the human, social, and cultural capital needed for civic engagement through participation in such organizations (Wilson and Musick ). This claim has been elaborated by diverse mediating factors that promote such political or civic engagement, including a core group of people to mobilize other members (Rosenstone and Hansen ), social capital (Putnam ), and sense of community (Davidson and Cotter ).…”