Connections: the contribution of social capital to regional development

Abstract

This article explores perceptions of social capital and sustainability of farming and its contribution to regional development. A review of the literature highlights challenges in the operationalisation of social capital as a development tool and the limits of research that gauges community perceptions of the role of social capital in their region's development. The current study investigated stakeholder attitudes regarding regional development within a target region in North Queensland, Australia. Focus groups were conducted at a regional, state and national level. Findings suggest that stakeholders perceived social capital to be important for farming sustainability and regional development, but can variously help or hinder effective development. We find that, given the broad nature of stakeholders' perceptions, research should embrace social capital as a multidimensional construct that can have both positive and negative impacts on regional development depending on stage and context of development.

Cooperation in Rural Areas as a Local System Development Opportunity

“…The achievement of economies of scale, together with good market prospects perceived by the cooperative, can promote its further growth, maintaining the traditions and the rural culture as well as the promotion and development of the area. The importance of the Cooperative in the investigated area is real and outstanding, confirming previous studies (Emana, 2009;Smith, 2011;Melece, 2013;McShane et al, 2016), which asserted that cooperatives are recognized as an important instrument for socio-economic improvement of community. The cooperative Rinascita is a good example of social capital at work as the success of the cooperative relies on trust and reciprocity.…”

“…social capital (Iyer et al, 2005;Wiesinger, 2007). The latter can therefore act as a factor of rural development if adequately supported by suitable tools of governance that regulate the relations between local actors (Baumgartner et al, 2013;Pileček et al, 2013;McShane et al, 2016).…”

Does social capital enforce social distancing? The role of bridging and bonding social capital in the evolution of the pandemic

“…Haynes ( 2009 ) suggests that problems of circularity make it a tautology, and that it is highly context dependent. Other scholars stress the fact that while some aspects of it are objective, others are subjective, and that rather than a proper socialization process, there are a number of circles to which one might belong (Bourdieu, 1986 ; McShane et al, 2016 ).…”

Socio-cultural capital in the Arab workplace: wasta as a moderator of ethical idealism and work engagement

“…Haynes (2009) claims that it is impossible to measure social capital, that the concept suffers from circularity which makes it a tautology, and that the possibility for positive or negative outcomes makes it contextdependent. Bourdieu (1986) and McShane et al (2016) suggest that some of the theory's aspects, such as social networks, roles, and rules are objective, but aspects such as norms, trust, and shared understanding are subjective. Similarly, Bourdieu (1986) notes that the theory includes both cognitive and pre-cognitive aspects, as the background context for knowing and acting in social settings is partly pre-reflective.…”