Consolidation of the social capital among different generational cohorts: organizational and subcultural facets

Abstract

The aim of this article is to consider the consolidation of social capital in two Russian state organizations under the context of different generational cohorts, namely, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Y, and the features of their organizational behavior. Consolidation of social capital is based on the integrated semantic area that could include the estimation of organizational culture, employees’ commitment to company goals and values as well as strong organizational identification. Extensively, consolidation of social capital is determined by organizational, generational and subcultural peculiarities of staff. Altogether, 250 employees participated in this study and filled in three questionnaires to estimate organizational culture, commitment and four dimensions of identification. The data collected in two sample groups (90 and 160 people) in St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk respectively demonstrated the significant differences among generational cohorts both in the organization and between them. The most hardships in the consolidation of social capital undergo generation X whose formative years had been within Perestroika span and strong social changes in Russia. All that is reflected at their level of organizational identification and contradictions while perceiving current and preferred organizational cultures.

Keywords

• consolidation of organizational social capital
• identification
• commitment
• organizational culture
• generational cohorts