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Substantial evidence illustrates that the social capital of a society affects the productivity of its firms and thereby lifts economic growth rates. The precise transmission mechanisms from social attitudes to organizational efficiency are still a black box. This paper investigates whether and in what form the social and institutional trust of employees has an impact on networks and trust within a firm (termed workplace social capital). A two-level approach enables a simultaneous analysis of potential individual-level and firm-level driving forces of workplace social capital surveyed from 1244 employees of 116 firms. Individual endowments of social and institutional trust are strongly associated with increased rates of workplace social capital at the employee level. High-trust individuals also appear to be clustered in firms, which is evidence for a sorting effect and the potential impact of a firm's embeddedness in the local area. Aggregated firm rates of workplace social capital are influenced by some of the management tools analysed such as focus on worker's health and work-life balance. In addition, we find that workplace social capital has a sizable and beneficial impact on satisfaction with obtained wage indicated by employees which is assumed to be a fundamental precondition for high work effort. Thus, we observe a link going from individual trust to wage satisfaction that is mediated by workplace social capital and represents a potential causal mechanism for inducing higher workforce productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of these analyses is to investigate collective memory, i.e. the shared historical experiences of a community, as driving force for contemporary social capital. Three societal characteristics are considered proxies for collective memory: the current institutional framework as indicator for present common experiences; the cultural attitudes as proxy for long-term developments; and severe shocks in the history of the regions. The primary aim is thus to understand whether collective memory permits identification of not only the effects of recent (i.e. institutional) or distant (i.e. cultural) on-going experiences, but also of the impact of such relevant shocks. For this purpose, a comprehensive case study is conducted within a cross-border research area with special historical development, where it is possible to discriminate between these three indicators of collective memory. The findings suggest a significant impact of collective memory on social capital endowment. Particularly striking shocks are sustained in the collective memory of a community, influencing its behavior even long after the incident occurred. As a consequence, especially the levels of social trust and networking of the affected population are significantly influenced, such that the community develops protective measures in order to secure its norms, values and traditions. As a result, the social capital of a population is heavily influenced by events that occurred outside living memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]