Networking and Performance of Community Organization in Taiwan: A Social Capital Perspective

Theory development on the social networks of groups is less typical compared to networks of individuals. Application of social capital theories on non-profit organizations is scant. Despite of the developing base of theory and evidence, many community organizations around the world have developed partnerships in a belief that organizational networking leads to social capital and enhances service capacity. The study asks (1) whether networking among community organizations is truly helpful to their service performance and (2) whether the effect of networking varies by certain organizational features of a organization.

The research framework is built with the literature review of social capital theories with a focus of organizations, community practice models, and case studies on communities’ networking. Networking is hypothesized as associated with performance. Two forms of networking, within and beyond community, are defined according to types of social capital. Two traits of performance include effectiveness of carrying out the services and innovation regarding the long-term service development. Key organization factors are leadership, community capacity, and funding sources. The direct and moderation effects of these organization factors are included and examined.

Studied are 640 community development associations (s) in Taiwan, a probability sample of a secondary face-to-face survey in 2011. The results of multiple regression analysis show that networking beyond community enhances a CDAs’ effectiveness and innovation. Networking within community is found negatively associated with the overall performance probably because of the potential tension between a CDA and political entities in the same neighborhood. Additionally, the study finds the desirable effects of organization networking vary by certain organization factors. Networking beyond community enhances effectiveness of a CDA; such effect is strengthened by leadership and weakened by community capacity. Within-community networking leads to effectiveness improvement only for CDAs having mixed funding sources. Implications about applying a social capital perspective on community organizations and none-European-American societies are discussed.