Beate Völker

Goal specific social capital and job satisfaction Effects of different types of networks on instrumental and social aspects of work

This paper addresses the question “To what extent can job satisfaction be explained as the revenue of social capital?” By conceiving someone’s social network as social capital we specify conditions under which social ties do lead to job satisfaction. We inquire into the idea of goal specificity of social capital, which implies that a network with a given structure and content will have different impacts on various aspects of job satisfaction. If the content of the ties and the structure of the network at the job engender material well-being or produce social approval, satisfaction with the corresponding job aspects increases. Data were collected in 1993 using written questionnaires in two Dutch governmental agencies, one with 32 and the other with 44 employees. These workers’ networks were charted using nine name-generating questions. Social capital, it turns out, is not an all-purpose good but one that is goal specific, even within a single domain of life such as work. Three effects stand out: First, the structure of the network and the content of the ties do matter. Networks of strategic, work-related ties promote an employee’s satisfaction with instrumental aspects of the job, like income, security, and career opportunities. Second, closed networks of identity-based solidarity ties improve an employee’s satisfaction with social aspects of the job, like the general social climate at work and cooperation with management and colleagues. Third, a network with a bow–tie structure (i.e., where a focal actor is the link between two or more mutually exclusive cliques) generally has strong negative effects on satisfaction with the social side of the job; although a bow–tie type network of trusting ties does increase satisfaction with the social side. This implies that Krackhardt’s hypothesis on the unpleasant feelings produced by bow–tie type networks has to be specified for the content of the ties that constitute such The study reported in this paper was made possible by grants from the Dutch Science Foundation and the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences. We want to thank Bert Bulder for his contribution to earlier versions of this paper.

Social contexts and personal relationships: The effect of meeting opportunities on similarity for relationships of different strength

This paper examines the effect of social contexts on similarity in personal relationships. We argue that the effect of social contexts is larger for weaker, and smaller for stronger relationships. Using data from The Survey of the Social Networks of the Dutch (collected in 1999/2000, n = 1007), we first describe where people got to know their acquaintances, friends and partner and that similarity in these relationships with regard to age, level of education, sex, and religion, generally varies. We then inquire whether getting to know each other in a certain context affects similarity, and whether this effect is different for relationships of different strength. Our main conclusion, however, is that the effect of social contexts on similarity is remarkably consistent across partnerships, friendships, and acquaintanceships.

Getting Ahead in the GDR Social Capital and Status Attainment under Communism

This paper deals with the returns to social capital in occupational attainment in the GDR, once a communist showcase. It examines the extent to which getting ahead in an industrial communist society depends on social capital, which by existing research was shown to be the case in agrarian communist and capitalist industrial societies. Industrial technology and a Marxist ideology supposedly both impede particularism, suggesting that social capital is not that important for getting ahead. In addition, the relationship between the use of and access to social resources is explored. Retrospective data from two random samples collected in 1992 and 1993 in Leipzig and Dresden have been used to test our expectations. Although universalism seemingly dominated the attainment process, as a persons education was more important than his fathers resources, nearly half of the employed got their jobs through some informal channel. Yet, the use of informal resources only led to a better job if the contact person had high occupational prestige. Part of the influence of human capital on occupational achievement should be attributed to the effect of a persons social capital, i.e. a contact person with high prestige. Access to occupations through informal ties did not imply that these ties were used. Although one reached higher occupational ranks through weak ties (acquaintances), access through strong ties (friends or relatives) was crucial for finding a contact person with high prestige. This probably reflects the high damage potential of using illegal particularistic ties under communism. Using a high prestige contact person was far more important for getting a better job than having access to higher occupations.

Intra-organizational Networks and Performance: A Review

Intra-organizational network research had its first heyday during the empirical revolution in social sciences before World War II when it discovered the informal group within the formal organization. These studies comment on the classic sociological idea of bureaucracy being the optimal organization. Later relational interest within organizational studies gave way to comparative studies on the quantifiable formal features of organizations. There has been a resurgence in intra-organizational networks studies recently as the conviction grows that they are critical to organizational and individual performance. Along with methodological improvements, the theoretical emphasis has shifted from networks as a constraining force to a conceptualization that sees them as providing opportunities and finally, as social capital. Because of this shift it has become necessary not only to explain the differences between networks but also their outcomes, that is, their performance. It also implies that internal and external networks should no longer be treated separately.Research on differences between intra-organizational networks centers on the influence of the formal organization, organizational demography, technology and environment. Studies on outcomes deal with diffusion and adaptation of innovation; the utilization of human capital; recruitment, absenteeism and turnover; work stress and job satisfaction; equity; power; information efficiency; collective decision making; mobilization for and outcomes of conflicts; social control; profit and survival of firms and individual performance.Of all the difficulties that are associated with intra-organizational network research, problems of access to organizations and incomparability of research findings seem to be the most serious. Nevertheless, future research should concentrate on mechanisms that make networks productive, while taking into account the difficulties of measuring performance within organizations, such as the performance paradox and the halo-effect.

Social Contexts and Core Discussion Networks: Using a Choice-Constraint Approach to Study Similarity in Intimate Relationships

Social contexts in which confidants get to know each other affect the composition of their personal networks, inter alia the similarity among confidants. Results from analyses on a representative sample of the Dutch population between 18 and 65 years of age (SSND 2000), support the idea that differences in similarity among confidants can be explained by 1.) the social composition of a context, 2.) the extent to which interactions within a context are enforced, and 3.) the amount of time people spend in a context. Moreover, there is a certain degree of path-dependency in the use of social contexts, that leads to reinforced context effects on similarity among confidants.

Sixteen Million Neighbors A Multilevel Study of the Role of Neighbors in the Personal Networks of the Dutch

This article discusses the role of neighbors in the personal networks of people living in the Netherlands. It aims to establish the conditions for the inclusion of neighbors in such a network. Three complementary theoretical perspectives for developing hypotheses are employed: meeting opportunities, sharing groups, and social capital. Arguments are tested using nationally representative data (N = 902) and multilevel regression models. The results show that all three perspectives contribute to explain the number of neighbor relations in personal networks, although none of the theoretical perspectives is fully confirmed. Interestingly, local facilities such as primary schools and day care facilities, which draw their members not only from the neighborhood but also from a larger local area, influence the likelihood of including neighbors in personal networks: primary schools encourage these relations, while the existence of day care facilities discourages neighboring.

Changes in personal relationships: How social contexts affect the emergence and discontinuation of relationships

Abstract Although the average number of confidants and practical helpers in Dutch networks only slightly changes over seven years, we found considerable changes among these relationships over these years. To explain the stability of existing relationships as well as the emergence of new ones, we paid attention to meeting opportunities in specific social contexts, such as the work place, family, sports clubs, voluntary associations, and the neighborhood. Notably, we found that a lack of meeting opportunities is an important reason why many personal relationships are discontinued, and that a path-dependent use of social contexts makes new relationships more likely to emerge in a specific context if existing network members are already met in that context. Finally, it is proposed that care should be taken when interpreting changes in personal networks if one relies on information about networks that are delineated using only one name generating question.

Local Businesses as Attractors or Preventers of Neighborhood Disorder

While businesses may attract potential offenders and thus be conducive to disorder, the number of employees could offset this by exercising social control on offenders. This study uses data from different sources to test this expectation across 278 Dutch neighborhoods in the four largest cities of the Netherlands, using multivariate multilevel analysis to disentangle individual perception differences of disorder and neighborhood effects. Attention is paid to traditional explanations of disorder (i.e., poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity). Results show a positive relationship between business presence and neighborhood disorder. We do not find consistent results of the number of employees (i.e., bigger businesses are not always better or worse). Our research demonstrates that the presence of neighborhood businesses could rival the effects of social disorganization theory.

Social networks and getting a home : Do contacts matter?

Under what conditions does one find a new home via one’s social network? Does the way in which a house is acquired affect how satisfied one is with the house? We formulate hypotheses on the characteristics of personal networks, the context of the move and their effect on those who attain a house through informal channels and how satisfied they are with the new home. We use a representative dataset from the Netherlands (the Survey of the Social Networks of the Dutch, SSND, n = 1007) to test our arguments. Our results show that buyers with more diverse social networks and renters with larger social networks are more likely to find their home via social contacts. However, finding a home through an informal channel does not enhance their satisfaction with the house that is found.

Civic Organizations as Political Actors Mapping and Predicting the Involvement of Civic Organizations in Neighborhood Problem-Solving and Coproduction

Despite the scholarly consensus on the importance of civic organizations for the livability of neighborhoods, there are relatively few empirical studies examining to what extent these organizations engage in various forms of political participation to contribute to the quality of the neighborhood. The authors argue that to get a better overview of neighborhood-oriented forms of participation, it is necessary to look beyond those organizations with an explicit focus on the neighborhood and to include newer forms of participation such as coproduction, government-initiated plans that seek to address neighborhood issues through extensive cooperation with organizations. The authors argue that three groups of factors determine organizational participation: resources, engagement, and network position. An empirical analysis of survey data collected in 2007 from 400 organizations in eight neighborhoods in two Dutch cities shows that the impact of resources is virtually absent, whereas concern about the neighborhood and relations to pivotal organizations are positively related to participation.