EXAMINING THE COMPONENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIAL CAPITAL IN HUNGARIAN COMPANIES

Abstract

The measurement of organizational social capital (OSC) is extremely important, since numerous studies have found that social capital in organizations significantly affects employee job satisfaction, workplace creativity, innovativeness, and organizational performance. In this study, the strength of social capital in Hungarian organizations was assessed using a three-dimensional approach (cognitive, relational, and structural). Data collected from 405 Hungarian employees were used in empirical research to validate research model and hypotheses. IBM SPSS Statistics 27 and AMOS 23.0 were utilized for the statistical evaluations. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used for construct validation. An empirically validated model of eight dimensions and thirty items was developed to assess various aspects of organizational social capital in a work environment. Relationships among OSC components were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). In order to determine if there were any differences in distribution of values of research dimensions among groups based on the business sector (public, private, non-profit) and the organization size (5-9 employees, 10-49 employees, 50-249 employees, 250 employees or more), the Kruskal−Wallis test was used. In the case of a significant result of the Kruskal−Wallis test, the groups showing significant differences were determined using the Dunn−Bonferroni post hoc test. In order to examine differences between managers and subordinates, the Mann−Whitney test was applied. This study found that of the three elements of organizational social capital, the cognitive dimension is the basis of the relational dimension, which in turn determines largely the structural element. Additionally, it was demonstrated that there are significant differences among sectors, company sizes, as well as between managers and subordinates in terms of the comparative evaluation parameters of organizational social capital. The study results provide insight into the structure of social capital in the workplace, which can be useful to managers and HR professionals.