A Conceptual Model of Nurses’ Workplace Social Capital: A Theory Synthesis

Abstract

Background: Research has confirmed the importance of workplace social capital in the nursing workforce. It is necessary to integrate the mounting empirical evidences about nurses’ workplace social capital into a scientific collection to provide a comprehensive presentation of this concept which can be a conduit for furthering research and advancing the practice of nursing management and leadership. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to discuss the process of developing a conceptual model of nurses’ workplace social capital, an effective and concise approach to illustrate a scientific phenomenon.Methods: The model of nurses’ workplace social capital was developed following Walker and Avant’s strategy of theory synthesis. Empirical evidence relevant to nurses’ workplace social capital was synthesized by systematically examining the existing literature. PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched periodically from October 2017 to July 2020. Results: Our proposed conceptual model lays out the determinants and outcomes of nurses’ workplace social capital and specifies the relational statements among these concepts. Nurses’ workplace social capital is influenced by the organizational and individual determinants shaped by multiple layers of sub-concepts. The development and implementation of nurses’ workplace social capital has three themes of consequences: 1) nurses’ outcomes; 2) patients’ outcomes; and 3) organizational outcomes. All the concepts and statements have been organized and aligned with the principles of “inventory of determinants or results” and “theoretical blocks”.Conclusion: Our theoretical synthesis offers a comprehensive picture of the current knowledge of nurses’ workplace social capital. Efforts should be dedicated to evaluating, revising, and revamping this newly developed model based on future empirical evidences. Our synthesized conceptual model is the segue to more comprehensive studies about nurses’ workplace social capital. Interventional programs for the development of social capital can be structured based on the identified determinants.

Assessing Nurses’ Workplace Social Capital: A Study Protocol for Culturally Appropriate Instrument Development

“…For the third cross-sectional survey of phase 2, we will recruit 77 clinical senior nursing professionals (≥5 years of job tenure) and 77 entry level nursing professionals (1–2 years of job tenure) as the contrasting groups from two tertiary hospitals in Lishui City of Zhejiang Province. Senior nursing professionals, in general, are considered to possess more stability in their relational networks and richer relational resources in their workplace (Xu, 2020). These two attributes, stability and richer resources are primarily due to their duration of professional performance and their tenure association with their colleagues.…”

“…These two attributes, stability and richer resources are primarily due to their duration of professional performance and their tenure association with their colleagues. In contrast, entry level nursing professionals because of their limited career experience are believed to have limited relational networks (Xu, 2020). Inclusion of these two groups permits for contrast evaluation of the NWSCQ.…”

“…Nurses’ workplace social capital can be an effective tool to address, resolve and remove barriers to workplace productivity and to improve efficiency of the delivery of healthcare services. Although the nursing professionals can be the direct and immediate beneficiaries of the nurses’ workplace social capital, the positive consequences of nurses’ workplace social capital can penetrate across a spectrum of recipients, ranging from the other healthcare professionals to patients and to hospital management and leadership (Kida et al, 2021; Xu & Stark, 2021). While the value of nurses’ social capital is well-established and accepted by academic scholars and healthcare industry leaders; its operational assessment has been limited because most nurse researchers have borrowed and/or modified instruments that were developed for application in scientific domains other than nursing.…”

“…Cultural values and believes influence growth and development of social capital in a workplace; thereby, the effects of culture should be considered when assessing workplace social capital (Eguchi et al, 2017; Norikoshi et al, 2020). However, findings from our previous study indicated that Chinese nursing professionals rated the translated versions of the commonly used instruments as insufficient and with limitations in validity because Chinese norms and values of their workplace were not incorporated in the context of these instruments (Xu, 2020). Therefore, we have designed and developed a study protocol to address the need for a new culturally sensitive instrument.…”

Predicting work performance and life satisfaction of nurses and physicians: The mediating role of social capital on self‐efficacy and psychological resilience

“…Moreover, the characteristics of the social environment and quality of social interactions are also important in maintaining psychological resilience (Jahanshahi et al, 2020). However, despite the research on the performance and life satisfaction of nurses and physicians, due attention has not been paid to their social capital (Xu & Stark, 2021). Close consideration of complex structures such as human nature, performance, and life satisfaction also necessitates a consideration of relational concepts such as social capital.…”