Relationship between Social Capital and Conflict Management and its Impact on Institutional Effectiveness in Rural Cooperatives in Gorgan country

Context and purpose. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between social capital and conflict management and its impact on institutional effectiveness in rural cooperative companies.Methodology/approach. This research was conducted through the survey approach and a researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect field data. The statistical population of the research included members of 13 rural cooperative companies of Gorgan county (N=14988). The sample size was estimated using Cochran's formula (n=315) and the respondents were selected by random cluster sampling. All statistical analyzes were performed using SPSS21 and AMOS20.Findings and conclusions. The findings of this research explain that the conflict management variable has a fully mediating role in the relationship between social capital and institutional effectiveness. In other words, considering the significance of the causal relationship between social capital and conflict management and the causal relationship between conflict management and institutional effectiveness, it can be indicated that the variable of social capital indirectly affects institutional effectiveness through conflict management.Originality. Considering that no empirical research has been published in Iran considering the causal relationships between the three variables of social capital, institutional effectiveness and conflict management, the findings of this research can provide opening insight and knowledge for future research. Also, the measurement scales used in this research, which are customized to the contexts of the rural cooperatives, can be developed or used by other researchers. In addition, the suggestions derived from the findings of this research can be used in the design of training courses for the management of rural cooperative companies, as well as in policy making to reform the structure and institutional processes in this field.