Structural Equation Modeling of the Effect of Social Capital on Job Satisfaction among the Staff Working at the Police Head Quarters in Mazandaran Province

Based on the theoretical and empirical relationship between the primary structures of social capital and job satisfaction, this article attempts to study it among the staff working at the police Head Quarters in Mazandaran province. In this regard, an applied survey method was used to collect data. The simple random sampling method was used to study 148 subjects working at the police HQ in Mazandaran province. The tools used were the questionnaire on social capital by Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) comprising 22 questions in three domains (structural, relational and cognitive domains), and the job satisfaction questionnaire by Brayfield and Rothe's (1951) encompassing 19 questions, and four elements (satisfaction from the job, colleagues, promotion in the organization, and salary and raises). The validity for the tools was α= 0.748 for social capital and α=0.839 for job satisfaction based on Cronbach's alpha. To analyse the data, a regression analysis, anindependent t-test, and One-Way ANOVA and structural equation modeling were employed. The results showed that social capital had a positive and significant impact on job satisfaction among the staff working at the police HQ in Mazandaran province. The regression analysis and structural equations concurrently represented a significant and positive influence of social capital domains (structural, relational and cognitive domains) on job satisfaction. There was no significant difference between social capital and job satisfaction regarding work experience.