The Relationship between Organizational Social Capital and Retention of Faculty Members in Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Year 2011

Introduction: Faculty members are considered the most important elements of higher educational systems so their recruitment and retention is one of the success factors for universities. Theoretically, social capital is one of the factors that may affect on faculty retention. This study was aimed to study the relation between organizational social capital and retention of faculty members in Kerman University of Medical Sciences during year 2011. Methods: This was a cross- sectional and descriptive-analytical study. It was conducted in all colleges of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. A sample of 150 faculty members was selected via multistage sampling. They completed two valid and reliable questionnaires already developed by others. Data were analysed by regression models and path analysis. Results: In this study, the mean of social capital and retention among the faculty members of Kerman University of Medical Sciences were 3.16±.96 and 3.13±.61 respectively (out of 5). The results showed that there is a direct and positive bilateral (r=0.65) correlation between social capital and retention of faculty members in Kerman University Medical Sciences. Conclusion: There are positive and significant relashionship between social capital and retention of fculty members in other words, the increse of social capital among faculty members will accompany an increase in the probability of their retention. Social capital is one of the factors that may strongly affect faculty retention, so managers can rely on the factors affecting the improvement of social capital to increase their retention, but other factors should not be neglected at all.