KNOWLEDGE SHARING BEHAVIOR AMONG FARMERS IN INDONESIA: DOES SOCIAL CAPITAL MATTER?

Abstract

Social capital has three important dimensions, namely, cognitive, relational and structural. It has a crucial role to enhance farmers’ income and knowledge in some developing countries. However, there is a lack of studies which validate the role of social capital to farmers’ income and knowledge sharing. The aims of this study are to examine the role of farmers’ social capital on knowledge sharing behavior through farmer community and personal expectations. The recent study also examines how mediators’ variables (individual and community expectations) influence farmers' knowledge sharing behavior. The study sample consisted of 720 Indonesian rice farmers from Sulawesi districts and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. The empirical result indicates that structural, cognitive and relational social capital have a positive role in farmers' expectations. They facilitate community members in rural areas and connect people locally and regionally, as mediator variables, personal and community expectations also emerged as tools where people can explore, interact and share their expertise to develop knowledge sharing behavior. However, community expectations have a greater effect on facilitating knowledge sharing among farmers than personal expectations. This study provided insights on developing and enhancing farmers' economic and social life, which was neglected in prior studies. This research contributes to the literature on social capital theory and social connectedness. Hence, the farmers and the local government should address and identify their objective and rational concerns to improve their social capital. In addition, social capital also enhances the content and processes of farmers’ interactions to foster communication and value propositions in creating unique and valuable experiences. Local government should be aware of the essential components of interaction and effective two-way communications among farmers. Furthermore, social capital can also be treated as a tool that allows farmers to share their expertise and knowledge. The community and local government should solve problems for farmers in the future since it is easier and faster to access information and knowledge about production processes. Social capital also has economic and social value, enhancing a sense of belonging among farmers.