Research on the influence of social capital on cooperation among subjects in electronic public service supply chain: a supernetwork model analysis

Increased public demand for electronic public services has forced the Electronic Public Service Supply Chain (EPSSC) to strengthen inter-departmental cooperation. Traditional measures deployed in the complex process of electronic public service supply rely on higher authorities and related management systems to promote the efficiency of inter-departmental cooperation, and clear limitations have emerged as a result. This paper addresses the inefficiency of inter-departmental cooperation in EPSSC, and engages issues such as ‘buckpassing’ and the lack of a distinction between duty and right. It therefore asserts that social capital within these government departments impacts on the achievement and stability of cooperation, and it draws on a supernetwork model based on variational inequality to analyze this assertion. On this basis, it explores the role of social capital in cooperation among supply chain subjects at different stages of inter-departmental cooperation. Research shows that in the initial stage of cooperation among departments in ESSPC, the rapid accumulation of social capital can promote cooperation among supply chain subjects by increasing homogeneous resources; in the intermediate stage, meanwhile, the rapid accumulation of social capital can promote cooperation by increasing heterogeneous resources. When the inter-department cooperative relationship stabilizes, the excess social capital is not conducive to cooperation among departments in ESSPC.