Understanding the antecedents, the outcomes and the mediating role of social capital: An employee perspective

an article by Marjo-Riitta Parzefall (EBS Business School, Germany) and Volker G Kuppelwieser (University of Wuppertal, Germany) published in Human Relations Volume 65 Number 4 (April 2012)

Abstract

This study examines 1) how job security, expected organizational change and workload influence employees’ perceptions of organizational social capital, and 2) how organizational social capital influences affective commitment through both direct and mediated routes.

Results from an employee survey (n = 1977) demonstrate that workload and organizational change negatively influence employees’ social capital perceptions, and that job security has a positive relationship with perceived social capital.

In addition, we confirm that perceived social capital has a positive relationship with affective commitment, partially mediating the negative relationships between workload, expected organizational change and affective commitment, and similarly mediating the positive relationship between job security and affective commitment.