Some aspects of the diagnosis of the social capital of the region in conditions of socio-economic instability

Karimov Aibulat Galim'yanovich PhD in Sociology Leading Scientific Associate, Institute of Socioeconomic Research – Branch of Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences 450097, Russia, Ufa oblast', g. Ufa, ul. Prospekt Oktyabrya, 71 karaigal@gmail.com Other publications by this author

There is no doubt that in modern times social capital has become one of the most important factors of progressive socio-economic development. In addition to the fact that social capital has an impact on increasing economic efficiency by reducing transaction costs, it generally contributes to the consolidation of society, strengthening trust and cohesion between people and ultimately contributes to national security. The need for research, in particular, the diagnosis of social capital, has become especially urgent recently. Socio–economic instability in the Russian economy creates new challenges for the state and society. In such circumstances, it is extremely important to use all available resources to maintain the sustainability of socio-economic development. Therefore, the diagnosis of social capital in order to use it more effectively and specifically in the management of the region is becoming extremely relevant.

 Despite the fact that the category of social capital is one of the most popular in modern science in terms of the number of publications and links associated with it, its interpretation and understanding remain ambiguous and contradictory. This is due to the fact that this phenomenon is interpreted in different approaches from different positions.  This situation also determines the difficulties in diagnosing and measuring social capital. A number of authors who analyzed and systematized approaches to understanding social capital M.V. Sheina, S.N. Paklina, Y.S. Becker, O.V. Demkiv, came to the conclusion that social capital has a dual nature. At the individual level, it is considered as an individual resource, thanks to which an individual is able to actually or potentially possess and use the resources of the entire social network based on the fact of joining it ^[1].

The group level of social capital includes communities, clubs, and organizations. They use it to gain access to resources and implement management functions of the external and internal order I. Macherinskene, R. Minkute-Henrikson, J. Simanavichene ^[2]. In the context of this approach, social capital to a certain extent ensures the implementation of social regulation norms, reducing transaction costs.

 An analysis of modern research on various aspects of the assessment and measurement of social capital shows that there are a significant number of approaches, some of them based on aggregate indices, others on complex questionnaires and surveys ^[3]. At the same time, such widespread interest in the analysis of social capital stems from different points of view and aspects that define a wide range of both positive and negative consequences of social capital. The positive effects range from improved health indicators to economic development ^[4,5]. Similarly, it highlights the many disadvantages of social capital, ranging from economic bubbles to social stratification ^[6,7,8].

It should be noted that American studies have developed approaches to assessing social capital from the point of view of various types of social capital. The first is in terms of different types of bonds of different strengths. The table below shows examples of such relationships (Table.1.)  ^[9].

Table 1. Types of bonds of different strengths.

Another established approach involves considering social capital from the point of view of the elements of the structure of social capital, which in turn are considered at three levels: structural, which examines the elements of the social structure that create opportunities for the social realization of production goals, cognitive, including common norms, values, attitudes and beliefs, encouraging people to mutually beneficial collective actions, relational – based on the characteristics of social relations between people and usually described as including trust and reliability ^[10].  

In development of the previous thesis, we consider it necessary to add that for the diagnosis of social capital, the analysis of its components, in particular, the adequate decomposition of social capital as a complex socio-economic phenomenon, is of particular importance. It should be noted that the task is complicated by the fact that currently there is no unified position on the elements of social capital in both foreign and Russian studies. The structure of social capital is not universal and largely depends on the approach and goals of a researcher. However, the overwhelming majority of scientists involved in the study of various aspects of social capital agree that the main elements of social capital are trust, intra-group norms, as well as social networks and connections. Some researchers propose to expand this approach by adding additional parameters to it, such as information security, civil identity. Also, individual researchers complement the structure of social capital with another important element – a value system that determines the level and quality of other components of social capital.

Now, let's focus on the selected components of social capital separately in the context of their measurement and evaluation. First, as mentioned above, we will consider the problems of measuring values. We share the point of view of Guzhavina T.A. and Vorobeva that the value bases that form its basis are important for the formation of a particular type of social capital. F. drew attention to the role and importance of culture and its values in the development of society and the formation of social capital. Fukuyama. Indeed, values have a significant impact on the formation of mutually beneficial behavior of individuals, ensure their interaction, and create conditions for collective behavior. Social capital is favorably influenced by values oriented towards unification, mutual assistance and solidarity ^[11].

      These authors have developed an indicator model, the value block of which is multicomponent and includes several diverse indicators. It includes the level of adaptation to changing socio-economic conditions, the locus of responsibility (internal or external), the general willingness to unite, and innovative behavior.

The next component, which is one of the important indicators of social capital, is trust. S. Knak and P. Kiefer, based on an inter-country study (for 29 countries with market economies), showed a positive relationship between the level of trust. The results of many studies indicate that trust has a significant impact on both interpersonal interaction and socio-economic development of regions and the country as a whole.

In particular, many scientists study trust as a factor influencing a person's decision-making process to start entrepreneurship. In fact, the ability to trust others when starting a new business in conditions of uncertainty is becoming extremely important for the country's economic indicators. Other researchers have concluded that the public's trust in public institutions has a positive effect on the level of economic success of the country ^[12].

At the same time, special attention needs to be paid to the consideration of social capital from the perspective of taking into account the socio-cultural changes taking place in our society. This approach will allow for a comprehensive analysis of social capital, including the study of the degree of influence of key factors of social development on it.

The analysis allows us to propose methodological tools for assessing social capital, characterized by the integrative nature of the use of statistical and sociological indicators, which allows us to diagnose social capital at 3 levels: institutional, corporate and individual levels. The use of such tools will make it possible to measure the effects of social capital on socio-economic development, identify areas with high and low levels of social capital, and identify social groups in a vulnerable position in relation to social capital. Obtaining such data contributes to the development of systematic and targeted measures aimed at increasing the level of social capital and increasing the efficiency of its use (Table 2).

Table 2. Methodological tools for the diagnosis of social capital

Since social capital is characterized by versatility, its assessment at different levels will differ slightly in the composition of indicators. So, at the institutional level, it is important to include such indicators as: trust in government institutions, civil and public participation. For example, in the studies of social capital conducted by the Legatum Institute, a special index is used that evaluates a number of factors: the level of donations, the development of volunteerism, trust, help to people around, etc. Interestingly, the assessment of the social capital of this institution begins with an analysis of values in order to determine the priorities of countries with a high level of social capital development. According to this study, the countries that have shown the highest level of social capital are dominated by the values of rationalism and self-expression. These are, first of all, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland. Traditional values and survival prevail in countries with a low level of social capital (Pakistan, India). In Russia, survival values are located next to rational values. Consequently, one of the foundations of the development of social capital in the Scandinavian countries is the ideology of individualism, freedom of human rights, self-expression and personal freedoms. In these countries, the state is focused on social infrastructure, which helps to maximize the potential of society, to realize their opportunities, without limiting their personal freedom ^[13]. Another component that was evaluated in this study was trust. In this case, the indicators of interpersonal trust were evaluated, as well as the willingness of people to help each other. In addition, the level of trust in various institutions (government, business, media, public organizations) was assessed.

At the corporate level, the assessment of social capital is of great interest to both scientists and business representatives. Despite the fact that social capital is difficult to consider as an economic good, nevertheless, most researchers agree that there is a direct relationship between the state of social capital and the level of economic development of an organization. At the same time, the researchers identify the following as the main effects of the influence of social capital on the organization's activities:

1. The effects associated with the internal social capital of the organization, leading to an increase in its value for shareholders and stakeholders. These include: improving the economic and financial situation of the organization; increasing efficiency; increasing innovation; increasing competitiveness; facilitating change management.

2. Effects related to external social capital:  saving on handling costs; establishing, in addition to commercial ties, also friendly relations between the company and suppliers and customers; increasing sales; increasing business reputation; increasing business awareness of government policy issues; the overall impact of the external environment on business and its value ^[14].

Researchers divide the social capital of an organization into internal and external. If social capital is considered as an internal factor, then the focus of the study is to study various types of trust, internal formal and informal rules, interpersonal networks of interaction. The study of the internal social capital of an organization can be built around the concepts of solidarity and common values, also related to internal unwritten norms. Internal social capital can be understood as an element linking employees of one company. At the same time, internal resources can also be used to accumulate individual human capital (both in the form of reputation and in the form of intellectual abilities), which ultimately can affect the reputation of the company itself, since any firm consists primarily of people ^[15].

External social capital is usually associated with the actions of the company in the external environment (for example, the reputation of the company). According to the results of the conducted research, social capital strengthens relations with external partners, facilitates the processes of creating new companies, and promotes the development of business partnerships. The external social capital of an organization is expressed, among other things, in the company's involvement in various business groups. Unlike other ways of cooperation between organizations, in business groups, the relationships between partners are stable, they are complex, multifaceted and regulated by both formal and informal rules. Organizations included in business groups can use the resources of other member companies of the group and reduce transaction costs when concluding transactions.

It should be noted that according to separate empirical studies conducted in Russian industrial enterprises, it was found that workers with developed social capital have better conditions of access to a resource of collective knowledge, are more inclined to observe labor discipline, are more motivated to obtain high-quality products and take the initiative to create innovations. High social capital contributes to improving the professional efficiency of industrial workers, thereby having a positive impact on the modernization development of the organization ^[16].

The social capital of an organization is difficult to measure and evaluate due to the uncertainty and "blurriness" of the object of measurement. The elements of social capital, consisting of various kinds of relationships, obligations and verbal attitudes, are numerous, diverse and, as a rule, immaterial. The assessment is also hampered by the fact that many elements of the organization's social capital are of a social rather than individual nature. In order to avoid the uncertainty that exists with respect to objects and measurement methods, the field of social capital research should be clearly defined. According to some researchers, when developing an economic strategy of a company, the most interesting from the point of view of measuring the social capital of an organization are those forms of it that, on the one hand, have an undoubted impact on the market value of the company, and on the other, can act as objects of management. Therefore, they suggest focusing on that part of the organization's social capital, which in the literature is most often called the term "organizational capital" ^[17].

A review of the methods of assessing social capital in relation to the region shows that there are not so many of them. In this context, the study of the social capital of the regions of Russia, conducted by the company "Aventica" by order of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, is of interest. As part of this study, a system of indicators was formed, aggregated into 3 blocks: the main indicators of the capital of trust, the main indicators of the capital of values and norms, the main indicators of the capital of social networks (a total of 30 indicators. At the final stage, the indicators are reduced to an integral indicator of the social capital of the region, which was calculated using the procedure of combining private indicators ^[18]. It should be noted that as a result of this study, the authors revealed the existence of large disparities between regions both in terms of the value of the integral index of social capital and its individual components: the level of trust, compliance with existing norms, and the development of social networks ^[18].

Analyzing social capital, researchers distinguish two forms of it: open and closed. Open social capital is based on a large radius of trust: all members of society share the same norms and values, and everyone trusts not only close people, good acquaintances, but in general all surrounding members of society. Closed social capital, on the contrary, contributes to the emergence of narrow interest groups. This is the social capital of closed groups in which people pursue exclusively their own goals and interests, while the radius of trust is small: people trust only trusted close people, thus showing limited, double morality ^[18]. Thus, Polishchuk and Menyashev revealed a positive relationship between the effectiveness of city administrations and the state of affairs in cities with open social capital and civic culture, and a negative one with closed civic capital ^[20].

Thus, the analysis shows that there are many approaches to the study of social capital as a complex socio-economic phenomenon. However, all of them have certain limitations that do not allow to fully reveal its functionality. Therefore, when considering the social capital of the region, it is proposed to consider social capital from the perspective of an integrating approach, since all the considered levels of social capital (mentioned above) are represented in the region. In the table.3 the main elements and indicators of diagnostics of the social capital of the region are presented. It should be noted that due to the fact that the comprehensive diagnosis of the social capital of the region is a complex process, only some examples of scaling are presented in the table.

Table 3. The main indicators of the social capital of the region (compiled on the basis of the following sources ^[13,21,22].

The table does not contain all the indicators that are used to assess the social capital of the regions. Here are some data on the analysis of some of them.   At the same time, it should be noted that for the assessment of open and closed social capital, the list of indicators will differ. Thus, in accordance with the results of the 2021 survey. The Institute of History, Language and Literature of the UFIC RAS of Sociological Research (with the participation of the author, it was revealed that open and closed capital is characteristic of residents of Bashkortostan to about the same extent. Thus, according to the data of this survey, the majority of respondents who identify themselves with an all-Russian identity (47.1%) are with residents of their city (village) (43.5%). Slightly less – with people of the same faith (36.4%) and with residents of the same region (35.2%) (Table 4).

Table 4. Distribution of answers to the question: to what extent do you feel intimacy with ...?

Almost a third of respondents in the Republic of Bashkortostan feel themselves Russians (and therefore identify themselves with a fairly broad social community), which, in our opinion, indicates a fairly high degree of civil identity.  The second group, which noted the importance of the Russian and Republican communities equally, turned out to be similar in number to the third (28.3%). The priority of national and local identity was noted by 11.2% of respondents. It can be noted that the representation of a community characterized by a closed type of social capital in the Republic of Bashkortostan is not prevalent (Table 5).

Table 5. Distribution of answers to the question: Who do you feel more like?

One of the important aspects of social capital, as mentioned earlier, is institutional trust. In the 2021 survey, respondents were also asked to answer the question of how much they trust certain public authorities, institutions, and government representatives.  According to the survey results, the President of the Russian Federation and the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan were trusted the most. However, it is alarming that such key public authorities as the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Duma of the Russian Federation, and the Federation Council of the Russian Federation enjoyed a much lower level of trust in the eyes of respondents. Thus, almost one in five respondents noted that they do not trust them at all (Table 6). It should be noted that such assessments are typical in general for the population of other subjects of the Russian Federation.

Table 6. Distribution of answers to the question: to what extent do you trust or distrust the following representatives and authorities?

Of interest are some of the results of a survey of researchers in the Republic of Bashkortostan conducted with the participation of the author in 2023. According to the survey, a fairly high level of interpersonal trust of respondents was recorded. Traditionally, the level of trust is higher in the immediate environment: the family and much lower in the distant environment (neighbors, strangers). The vast majority of respondents unconditionally trust family members and relatives (77.1%) (Fig. 7). It should be noted that this situation is not a distinctive feature of interpersonal relations among residents of the region, in other regions researchers note similar figures.

Figure 7. Distribution of answers to the question: Tell me, please, to what extent do you trust the following groups of people?

The trends discussed above are also confirmed to a certain extent in the answers to questions related to respondents' assessment of trust and cohesion at the level of the world, country and region. Thus, according to the survey results, negative judgments significantly prevail over positive ones. More or less positive assessments of the level of trust and cohesion are recorded in the regional plane. In our opinion, the main factors influencing such assessments were the geopolitical events in the global and post-Soviet space (Fig. 8).

Figure 8. Distribution of answers to the question: Tell me, please, to what extent do you trust the following groups of people?

Within the framework of the conducted research, only some indicators of the diagnosis of social capital are considered. However, certain conclusions can be drawn from them. Modern Russian society needs to strengthen social trust, primarily at the institutional level. This is becoming extremely necessary to preserve national security in the face of worsening geopolitical factors and increasing socio-economic instability. It is also important to strengthen social cohesion by increasing trust in interpersonal, intergroup relations, as well as relations between society and state institutions.

This study was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the UFIC RAS No. 075-01134-23-00 for 2023 for the planning period of 2024 and 2025.

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