An Evaluation of the Correlation between Social Capital and Organizational Commitment in a Hospital Atmosphere

Organizational commitment of hospital employees is a strategic factor in their performance and serving, due to the unique characteristics of this organization. One of the new social concepts in hospitals that can strengthen organizational commitment is the social capital of employees. Therefore, this study was implemented with the aim to determine the correlation between social capital and organizational commitment in a hospital in Tehran, Iran.
In this descriptive-correlational study, 337 expert employees of a hospital in Tehran, including doctors, nurses, and assistants, participated. The participants were selected through simple random and classified sampling methods. Data was gathered using Allen and Meyer's Organizational Commitment questionnaire and the researcher-made Social Capital Questionnaire, and its validity and reliability were, respectively, calculated using face validity and Cronbach's alpha. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software. All P values of less than 0.05 were considered significant.
Findings: The results showed a positive and significant correlation between social capital and organizational commitment (P = 0.001) and also the structural dimension of social capital and organizational commitment (P = 0.030). The correlation between the cognitive dimension of social capital and organizational commitment was weak and significant (P = 0.280). The correlation between the relational dimension of social capital and organizational commitment was positive and significant (P Social capital in an organization or a part of that organization can reinforce the organizational commitment of that organization or that part of the organization and employees who have stronger social capital have higher organizational commitment.