The Impact of Leaders’ Social Capital on Community Development: A case study of Community S, Taichung City

[[abstract]]Abstract Since a community development council is often considered at the far end of administration, and government community development policy often influences local community development through financial support, this study explores how leaders in S Community Development Council apply personal social capital to promote the development of S Community. Applying a case study method, six leaders from Taichung City’s S Community Development Council were interviewed. The interviews were tape recorded, transcribed, and analyzed according to social capital theory proposed by Nan Lin. Lin’s theory focuses on the concept of social exchange, arguing that individuals’ behaviors are motivated by the prospect of receiving a reward. These behaviors result in transformations of and flows among resources to produce and maintain social capital. In addition, Lin emphasizes the concept of social structure, proposing that individuals’ behaviors are restricted by the limitations of these behaviors, and that they are the products of individuals’ rational choices. The key findings are as follows: 1. The fact that leaders are accustomed to connecting human resources often results in the pressure of potentially owing favors; thus, government funding remains an important financial resource. 2. A connection with resources is influenced by geographical factors. Members of urban communities have more diverse resource networks due to the shorter distance between and smaller size of communities. Consequently, the resources available to the leaders in one community are not limited within an individual community. This phenomenon will help communities develop a “community alliance.” 3. The influence of strong ties is the main motivator for leaders to participate in community development, because using strong ties to connect with resources may bring about a higher success rate, lower cost, and support for leaders. 4. The rewards for participating in community development include accumulating good karma, increasing personal networks, enhancing one’s reputation, bonus, economic benefit, and position, finding a new stage, etc. These are the reasons why leaders continue to participate in community development. 5. The capital that females lack, as well as the unequal resources available to females, could be compensated by the duration of participation in community development and female characteristics. The research results can also supplement or modify Lin’s social capital theory. For example, Lin indicates that weak ties would bring about diverse social capital. This phenomenon, in turn, supports the development of the organization. However, this study finds that leaders in S Community Development Council emphasize the success rate of connections among resources, which differs from Lin’s argument. Based on the findings, the researcher suggests that leaders can expand the diversity of resource networks, provide services in the form of a community alliance, and emphasize the “quality” of service. Future research can accordingly apply the social capital approach to studies of community development and, thus, develop community development strategies