National Culture and Prosocial Behaviors Luria, Gil; Cnaan, Ram A.; Boehm, Amnon
Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly,
10/2015, Volume:
44, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Numerous studies have attempted to explain prosocial behaviors. Most of these studies focus on individual and contextual factors. Although existing data on the national level have demonstrated ...significant differences between countries in the frequency of prosocial behaviors, the reasons for these differences have rarely been explored. We hypothesize that Hofstede’s national culture perspective can explain this variance. We applied five societal culture structures to explaining cross-national variations: individualism (IND)–collectivism, power distance (PD), uncertainty avoidance (UA), masculinity, and future orientation (FO). Analysis of data from 66 countries supported our hypotheses: IND correlated positively and PD correlated negatively with prosocial behaviors. Contrary to our hypothesis, UA and FO correlated negatively with prosocial behaviors. Furthermore, PD and UA interact with IND in prediction of prosocial behaviors. We further explored the effect of the cultural dimensions on specific prosocial behaviors separately and found which of them are related to the cultural dimensions.
Social entrepreneurship in social work is vital to finding innovative, creative, and long-term solutions to complex and persistent social problems. Among all social workers, community social workers ...are the ones who are most expected to be innovative and entrepreneurial. This study explored the motivations for engaging in social entrepreneurship, as well as the action strategies adopted by community social workers who successfully implemented social innovations within the social services where they work. Research findings revealed five action strategies that have the potential to promote successful social ventures; a combination of individual and organizational characteristics motivates entrepreneurial behavior in social work.
In the wake of the Faith-Based Initiative in the USA, substantial research has resulted in an increased awareness of religious congregations and faith-based organizations as welfare service ...providers. The next frontier appears to be the role of religious organizations in international social and economic development, a topic that only recently started to attract academic interest. In this paper, we review available literature on the role that religious, or faith-based, organizations play in international social and economic development. We also provide results from our own study of USA international NGOs1 that are faith-based. We divide the paper into the positive contributions of faith-based international NGOs and the drawbacks of these NGOs. We find that faith-based nonprofits constitute almost 60 percent of USA-based international development organizations, and their contribution to international social development is quite considerable. We conclude with a call for further research and nuanced understanding of the role religion plays in international development.
Abstract
Social entrepreneurship in social work is presented in the literature as an important practice considering its ability to provide long-term, innovative, and creative interventions for social ...problems. However, many doubt the ability of social workers to act as social entrepreneurs. This study examined action strategies adopted by social workers who established innovative services to address social problems. Data were collected from qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with 23 successful social work entrepreneurs. Research findings revealed seven action strategies that have the potential to promote successful social entrepreneurship in social work: (1) coalition building, (2) legislative advocacy, (3) media use, (4) legislative tools, (5) active use of social network: “street smarts,” (6) development of a resource infrastructure, and (7) cultural norms and traditions. The study provides insight into the various ways to succeed in social work entrepreneurship; to identify opportunities in education and practice for entrepreneurship in social work; and to serve as an effective, innovative guide to address the complex social problems facing social workers.
In the digital age, financial inclusion continues to be connected to social inclusion. While most personal financial transactions are shifting from cash currency to digital transactions, we must ...ensure that marginalized members of society are not unbanked and excluded from financial opportunities. Many countries are declaring their intention to transform to cashless societies. India is one such country. As a case study, we investigated rural Indian villages that declared themselves as cashless to assess the financial reality of villagers. We conducted a survey of households (N=3,159) within villages across seven Indian states. In each state, we studied a village that was officially declared cashless and a nearby comparison village. Our findings suggest that the comparison villages did as well as the cashless villages, as financial inclusion via digital banking was minimal to nonexistent. Alongside significant state variations, we found that financial literacy and online access were the best predictors of performing any digital banking activity. This study concludes with a warning against rushing toward digital banking and the formation of cashless societies, as marginalized populations may be excluded.
•Global and religious identity compared across 18 countries via World Values Survey.•Religious youth were more likely to identify as a world or global citizen.•Global citizenship identification ...impacts youth’s economic and social outcomes.
The world is becoming more globalized and interconnected. As a result, there is an emphasis on ensuring that the next generation can adapt and work in the budding global industries and new work environments. Faith-based organizations can supplement or complement governmental and familial entities in supporting youth as they grapple with the implications of globalization and global citizenship expectations. Our aim is to study the level of global citizen identification among religious and non-religious youth. Using the World Values Survey, we obtain data pertaining to 18–29-year-olds from 18 countries. We found that youth who identified with religious beliefs and religious practices are less likely to align with global citizenship tenets (e.g. accepts neighbors who are different from themselves), yet more commonly identify themselves as world citizens. These findings indicate that religious beliefs and religious behaviors mediate effects between individuals and global citizenship identifications. In return, religious affiliation may serve as a mediating structure that is instrumental in helping youth function in a world where identifying and living as a global citizen is expected.
In this article, we introduce the concept of “engageability,” which refers to the ability of volunteer-employing nonprofit organizations to engage, motivate, and manage volunteers to maximize their ...potential and sustain the volunteering human resource. Engageability conceptually complements the two well-established concepts of volunteerability and recruitability. By offering this conceptual framework, we enable volunteer-employing organizations to assess the degree to which they are engaging volunteers and to make improvements in this regard. Engageability questions how organizations that have already recruited volunteers make themselves volunteer-friendly and engage volunteers effectively. Based on the literature, we offer a comprehensive framework that considers a large set of organizational practices from germane to engageability, framing them into four fundamental clusters: (a) value-based (ideological), (b) managerial, (c) physical, and (d) supportive connections. We introduce the conceptual model and provide explanation for each cluster and each with-cluster organizational practices and discuss the potential contribution of this conceptual model.
Numerous models for policy analysis focus on understanding an existing or proposed policy. However, reviews of comprehensive welfare policies from a socio-political and historical developmental ...perspectives are rare. Further, most policy analysis studies are narrowly focused. Reading through many policy analysis approaches, we elicited five analytic themes that appeared in most and that are longitudinally socio-political-historical in nature: (1) the socialist/collectivist – capitalist/individualistic continuum, (2) transition from denial of child abuse and neglect to recognition, (3) the professionalization of care, (4) transition from out-of-home placement to community solutions, and (5) transition from first punishing, then protecting and providing rights. In this paper, we first present these five analytic themes with special reference to child welfare policies. Then, as a case study, we apply these themes to understand the evolution of child welfare policies in Israel. We refer to the wider gamut of social welfare that usually includes only child protective services while we also include child education, civil rights, child allowances, and social development policies. When the policies are children- and youth-related, some of the general policy trends take a softer, less-punitive, and expanding stances as compared to the welfare of adults. We conclude with suggestions regarding ways to analyze the evolution of other policies in other societal contexts.
For people living in U.S. cities, social services come not only from the government but increasingly also from local religious communities. Ever since the Clinton administration's welfare reform, ...faith-based institutions, and especially congregations, have been allowed to bid for federal funds for their programs. InThe Other Philadelphia Story, drawing on the first-ever census of congregations in any American city, Ram Cnaan and his colleagues provide an authoritative account of the functioning of congregations, their involvement in social services, and their support of other charitable organizations. An in-depth study of 1,392 congregations in Philadelphia, the book illuminates how these groups function as community hubs where members and neighbors alike gather throughout the week. Cnaan's findings show that almost every assembly of parishioners emphasizes caring for others, even if the help is modest. Thus American congregations uphold an implicit but strong norm of social responsibility and work to improve the quality of life for members and nonmembers alike. Many of the problems associated with urban life persist in the face of governmental inaction, and the burden of responsibility cannot be shouldered entirely by congregations. However, in a city such as Philadelphia, where half the residents are regular attenders of religious congregations, hopes for urban improvement are largely to be found in these local groups. Special focus is given in the book to kinds of care that often go unnoticed: volunteerism, provision of refuge, and informal assistance to community members in need. All told, Cnaan asserts, congregations are an essential component of Philadelphia's civil society. Without them, the quality of life would deteriorate immeasurably.
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