Codification of social capital: The impact of ict

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Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, İktisat Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2013

Öğrenci: SERKAN GÜRSOY

Danışman: ERKAN ERDİL

Özet:

This study aims to investigate the impact of information and communication technologies on social capital. This impact varies not only according to the technologies used but also according to the perception of social capital. Both concepts have wider applications and differentiated areas of implementation. This study evaluates ICT in terms of “knowledge sharing.” Similarly, social capital is taken into consideration in terms of organizational context. Within such a framework, constructs affiliated with these two concepts have been investigated: ICT has been evaluated in two constructs, and dimensions of social capital in eight constructs. By analyzing the relations between these constructs, this study mainly aims to measure the impact of ICT on social capital. In this context, the research shows that communication technologies and social media technologies do have similar as well as varied impacts on dimensions of social capital. The thesis suggests that these impacts stem from the developments in the social elements of ICT. By using these elements harmoniously, users are able to activate knowledge sharing. Variations in these elements are reflected as variations in the dimensions of developed social capital between communities with face-to-face interaction and the ones who have not yet achieved face-to-face interaction. This thesis reveals that the social capital observed in face-to-face interaction can as well be seen online communities.