Effects of Social Capital on the Problem-solving Ability of Rural Communities in the Context of Developers

농촌마을 내 사회자본이 주민주도 문제해결에 미치는 영향 : 업무담당자들의 시각을 중심으로

With a shift in the rural development process toward a bottom-up approach, the need to enhance the endogenous capacity of communities has become the core of rural development. In this regard, scholars have paid close attention to social capital to identify ways to facilitate endogenous rural development but focused mainly on relationships between social capital and local environment. That is, few studies have investigated the relationships between social capital and its various dimensions in the context of rural development initiatives. This study examines the effects of social capital on the problem-solving ability of community residents'rural development initiatives and assesses the types of social capital associated with such initiatives to propose optimal path for improving this ability. To distinguish between major dimensions of social capital, a questionnaire was developed by considering various stages of the rural development process. The survey considered a sample of 59 employees from public rural development institutions. According to the results, four paths were significant at the 5% level. Among these four paths, three set common goals. The effective channel was the path [common goals${\Rightarrow}$network${\Rightarrow}$cooperation${\Rightarrow}$problem-solving ability]. The key factor in improving problem-solving skills, the endogenous ability of community residents to facilitate rural development initiatives. The results suggest that governments should strengthen education and training programs to help residents set their common goals.