From capital to welfare: Exploring how good governance mediates the impact of intellectual and social capital in border communities
Abstract:
Purpose: This study aims to determine the role of effective governance as a mediating variable in the relationship between intellectual capital and social capital to improve community welfare in border villages, especially in Belu Regency, Indonesia.
Methodology: This study uses a quantitative approach and Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis method. Data from 155 families in border areas was collected with a survey from 28 border villages in Belu Regency that have distinctive socio-cultural characteristics.
Results: Effective governance has been proven to mediate the relationship between intellectual capital and community welfare. Meanwhile, in the relationship between social capital and welfare, partial mediation was found. The distribution of well-managed village funds improves welfare, even with limited intellectual capital.
Conclusions: Good governance encourages the compliance of village fund managers with the rules. Strong social capital and local customs-based also strengthen the impact of fund management on welfare.
Limitations: The findings are contextual in certain villages in Belu, so they cannot be generalized. This research emphasizes the importance of strengthening governance and integrating traditional values in village resource management.
Contribution: This research contributes to the literature by integrating intellectual capital, social capital, and governance into a single framework, highlighting how governance mediates development outcomes in marginalized border communities.
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Abrahamson, P. (1999). The Welfare Modelling Business. Social Policy & Administration, 33(4), 394-415. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9515.00160
Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S.-W. (2002). Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept. Academy of management review, 27(1), 17-40. doi:https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2002.5922314
Aldrich, D. P., & Meyer, M. A. (2015). Social Capital and Community Resilience. American behavioral scientist, 59(2), 254-269. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764214550299
Alfaro-Navarro, J.-L., López-Ruiz, V.-R., & Nevado Pena, D. (2017). A New Sustainability City Index Based on Intellectual Capital Approach. Sustainability, 9(5), 1-13. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su9050860
Azheri, B., & Anggunsuri, U. (2018). The Anomaly of the Village Government in Establishing Village Owned Enterprise. Hasanuddin Law Review, 4(2), 256-264. doi:https://doi.org/10.20956/halrev.v4i2.1299
Baihaqi, Asmawanti-S, D., & Putradana, M. R. (2023). The Village Financial Management Through Accountability, Transparency and Community Participation. Perspektif Akuntansi, 6(1), 15-36. doi:https://doi.org/10.24246/persi.v6i1.p15-36
Barton, H. (2000). Sustainable Communities: The Potential for Eco-Neighbourhoods. London: Earthscan Publications.
Basri, Y. M., Findayani, T. I., & Zarefar, A. (2021). Implementation of Good Governance to Improve the Performance of Village Governments. Jurnal Akuntansi, 11(2), 123-136. doi:https://doi.org/10.33369/j.akuntansi.11.2.123-136
Carradore, M. (2022). Academic Research Output on Social Capital: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 42(13-14), 113-134. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-11-2022-0281
Casallas, D. F. R. (2020). Strikes, Institutional Crisis in Latin America and Democratic Governance. Justicia, 25(37), 151-166. doi:https://doi.org/10.17081/just.25.37.4367
Colombo, M. G., Franzoni, C., & Rossi–Lamastra, C. (2015). Internal Social Capital and the Attraction of Early Contributions in Crowdfunding. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(1), 75-100. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12118
Hair Jr, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Second Edition. New York: Sage Publications.
Hair Jr, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R: A Workbook. New York: Springer Nature.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A New Criterion for Assessing Discriminant Validity in Variance-Based Structural Equation Modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115-135. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Hermanto, Y. B., Lusy, & Widyastuti, M. (2021). How Financial Performance and State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Values Are Affected by Good Corporate Governance and Intellectual Capital Perspectives. Economies, 9(4), 1-13. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9040134
Hidayah, N., Hapsari, D. W., Saputra, K. A. K., Dharmawan, N. A. S., & Yadiati, W. (2023). Can Institutional Good Governance and Intellectual Capital Affect University Quality?. International Journal of Economics & Management, 17(2), 251-261. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.47836/ijeam.17.2.07
Hill-Briggs, F., Adler, N. E., Berkowitz, S. A., Chin, M. H., Gary-Webb, T. L., Navas-Acien, A., . . . Haire-Joshu, D. (2020). Social Determinants of Health and Diabetes: A Scientific Review. Diabetes care, 44(1), 258-279. doi:https://doi.org/10.2337/dci20-0053
Knie?, W., & Goszczy?ski, W. (2022). Local Horizons of Governance. Social Conditions for Good Governance in Rural Development in Poland. European Countryside, 14(1), 27-50. doi:https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2022-0002
Kotkas, T., & Veitch, K. (2016). Social Rights in the Welfare State: Origins and Transformations. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis.
Lee, P. T., & Hu, K.-C. (2012). Evaluation of the Service Quality of Container Ports by Importance-Performance Analysis. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 4(3), 197-211. doi:https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSTL.2012.047479
Martinidis, G., Komninos, N., Dyjakon, A., Minta, S., & Hejna, M. (2021). How Intellectual Capital Predicts Innovation Output in EU Regions: Implications for Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 13(24), 1-19. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su132414036
Mukaro, C. T., Deka, A., & Rukani, S. (2023). The Influence of Intellectual Capital on Organizational Performance. Future Business Journal, 9(1), 1-14. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-023-00208-1
Nugrahani, T. S., Suharni, S., & Saptatiningsih, R. I. (2019). Potential of Social Capital and Community Participation in Village Development. JEJAK: Jurnal Ekonomi dan Kebijakan, 12(1), 68-85. doi:https://doi.org/10.15294/jejak.v12i1.15775
Nurcahyono, Sinarasri, A., Pamungkas, I. D., & Hanum, A. N. (2025). May Intellectual Capital and Corporate Governance Reduce the Probability of Financial Distress?. Contaduria y Administracion, 70(1), 1-25. doi:https://doi.org/10.22201/fca.24488410e.2025.5169
Omerzel, D. G., & Jurdana, D. S. (2016). The Influence of Intellectual Capital on Innovativeness and Growth in Tourism SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Slovenia and Croatia. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 29(1), 1075-1090. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2016.1211946
Putu, N., Ernawatiningsih, L., Agung, A., Marhaeni, I., & Yuliarmi, N. (2023). Improving Farmers’ Welfare by Enhancing the Ability of Information Technology Adoption. Journal of the Community Development in Asia, 6(1), 100-109. doi:https://doi.org/10.32535/jcda.v6i1.2067
Revida, E., Ismail, R., Lumbanraja, P., Trimurni, F., Sembiring, S. A. B., & Purba, S. (2023). Village Owned Enterprises Governance (BUMDes) Based on the Tourism Village Development. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 18(10), 3341-3346. doi:https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.181034
Saparita, R., Hidajat, E. W., & Apriliyadi, E. K. (2019). Pengembangan Ekonomi Desa Penghasil Kopi Melalui Pemanfaatan Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi di Kabupaten Belu. Riau Journal of Empowerment, 2(2), 81-91. doi:https://doi.org/10.31258/raje.2.2.81-91
Tarighi, H., Salehi, M., Moradi, M., & Zimon, G. (2022). Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and Audit Fee: Conflicting Evidence from Iran. Economies, 10(2), 1-42. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10020039
Tarlani, Dariah, A. R., & Rani, A. M. (2022). Transforming Rural Economy Through Community-Based Tourism with Village-Owned Enterprise (BUMDES, Badan Usaha Milik Desa)-A Case Study: Cibiru Wetan, Pagerwangi and Cipamekar Villages, Indonesia. International Journal of Sustainable Development & Planning, 17(5), 1-8. doi:https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.170517
Taylor-Gooby, P. (2008). Reframing Social Citizenship. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tejada, J. J., & Punzalan, J. R. B. (2012). On the Misuse of Slovin’s Formula. The philippine statistician, 61(1), 129-136.
Tsai, C.-H., & Mutuc, E. B. (2020). Evidence in Asian Food Industry: Intellectual Capital, Corporate Financial Performance, and Corporate Social Responsibility. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2), 1-21. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020663
Wold, S., Sjöström, M., & Eriksson, L. (2001). PLS-Regression: A Basic Tool of Chemometrics. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 58(2), 109-130. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7439(01)00155-1
Zakrzewska, M., Ahn, M., Biglieri, J., Zascerinska, J., & Gruenwald, N. (2017). The Role of Social Participation in the Concept of Good Governance-A Theoretical Approach. Public Policy and Administration, 16(4), 529-537. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.13165/VPA-17-16-4-01
- Abrahamson, P. (1999). The Welfare Modelling Business. Social Policy & Administration, 33(4), 394-415. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9515.00160
- Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S.-W. (2002). Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept. Academy of management review, 27(1), 17-40. doi:https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2002.5922314
- Aldrich, D. P., & Meyer, M. A. (2015). Social Capital and Community Resilience. American behavioral scientist, 59(2), 254-269. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764214550299
- Alfaro-Navarro, J.-L., López-Ruiz, V.-R., & Nevado Pena, D. (2017). A New Sustainability City Index Based on Intellectual Capital Approach. Sustainability, 9(5), 1-13. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su9050860
- Azheri, B., & Anggunsuri, U. (2018). The Anomaly of the Village Government in Establishing Village Owned Enterprise. Hasanuddin Law Review, 4(2), 256-264. doi:https://doi.org/10.20956/halrev.v4i2.1299
- Baihaqi, Asmawanti-S, D., & Putradana, M. R. (2023). The Village Financial Management Through Accountability, Transparency and Community Participation. Perspektif Akuntansi, 6(1), 15-36. doi:https://doi.org/10.24246/persi.v6i1.p15-36
- Barton, H. (2000). Sustainable Communities: The Potential for Eco-Neighbourhoods. London: Earthscan Publications.
- Basri, Y. M., Findayani, T. I., & Zarefar, A. (2021). Implementation of Good Governance to Improve the Performance of Village Governments. Jurnal Akuntansi, 11(2), 123-136. doi:https://doi.org/10.33369/j.akuntansi.11.2.123-136
- Carradore, M. (2022). Academic Research Output on Social Capital: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 42(13-14), 113-134. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-11-2022-0281
- Casallas, D. F. R. (2020). Strikes, Institutional Crisis in Latin America and Democratic Governance. Justicia, 25(37), 151-166. doi:https://doi.org/10.17081/just.25.37.4367
- Colombo, M. G., Franzoni, C., & Rossi–Lamastra, C. (2015). Internal Social Capital and the Attraction of Early Contributions in Crowdfunding. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(1), 75-100. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12118
- Hair Jr, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Second Edition. New York: Sage Publications.
- Hair Jr, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R: A Workbook. New York: Springer Nature.
- Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A New Criterion for Assessing Discriminant Validity in Variance-Based Structural Equation Modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115-135. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
- Hermanto, Y. B., Lusy, & Widyastuti, M. (2021). How Financial Performance and State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Values Are Affected by Good Corporate Governance and Intellectual Capital Perspectives. Economies, 9(4), 1-13. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9040134
- Hidayah, N., Hapsari, D. W., Saputra, K. A. K., Dharmawan, N. A. S., & Yadiati, W. (2023). Can Institutional Good Governance and Intellectual Capital Affect University Quality?. International Journal of Economics & Management, 17(2), 251-261. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.47836/ijeam.17.2.07
- Hill-Briggs, F., Adler, N. E., Berkowitz, S. A., Chin, M. H., Gary-Webb, T. L., Navas-Acien, A., . . . Haire-Joshu, D. (2020). Social Determinants of Health and Diabetes: A Scientific Review. Diabetes care, 44(1), 258-279. doi:https://doi.org/10.2337/dci20-0053
- Knie?, W., & Goszczy?ski, W. (2022). Local Horizons of Governance. Social Conditions for Good Governance in Rural Development in Poland. European Countryside, 14(1), 27-50. doi:https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2022-0002
- Kotkas, T., & Veitch, K. (2016). Social Rights in the Welfare State: Origins and Transformations. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis.
- Lee, P. T., & Hu, K.-C. (2012). Evaluation of the Service Quality of Container Ports by Importance-Performance Analysis. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 4(3), 197-211. doi:https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSTL.2012.047479
- Martinidis, G., Komninos, N., Dyjakon, A., Minta, S., & Hejna, M. (2021). How Intellectual Capital Predicts Innovation Output in EU Regions: Implications for Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 13(24), 1-19. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su132414036
- Mukaro, C. T., Deka, A., & Rukani, S. (2023). The Influence of Intellectual Capital on Organizational Performance. Future Business Journal, 9(1), 1-14. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-023-00208-1
- Nugrahani, T. S., Suharni, S., & Saptatiningsih, R. I. (2019). Potential of Social Capital and Community Participation in Village Development. JEJAK: Jurnal Ekonomi dan Kebijakan, 12(1), 68-85. doi:https://doi.org/10.15294/jejak.v12i1.15775
- Nurcahyono, Sinarasri, A., Pamungkas, I. D., & Hanum, A. N. (2025). May Intellectual Capital and Corporate Governance Reduce the Probability of Financial Distress?. Contaduria y Administracion, 70(1), 1-25. doi:https://doi.org/10.22201/fca.24488410e.2025.5169
- Omerzel, D. G., & Jurdana, D. S. (2016). The Influence of Intellectual Capital on Innovativeness and Growth in Tourism SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Slovenia and Croatia. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 29(1), 1075-1090. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2016.1211946
- Putu, N., Ernawatiningsih, L., Agung, A., Marhaeni, I., & Yuliarmi, N. (2023). Improving Farmers’ Welfare by Enhancing the Ability of Information Technology Adoption. Journal of the Community Development in Asia, 6(1), 100-109. doi:https://doi.org/10.32535/jcda.v6i1.2067
- Revida, E., Ismail, R., Lumbanraja, P., Trimurni, F., Sembiring, S. A. B., & Purba, S. (2023). Village Owned Enterprises Governance (BUMDes) Based on the Tourism Village Development. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 18(10), 3341-3346. doi:https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.181034
- Saparita, R., Hidajat, E. W., & Apriliyadi, E. K. (2019). Pengembangan Ekonomi Desa Penghasil Kopi Melalui Pemanfaatan Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi di Kabupaten Belu. Riau Journal of Empowerment, 2(2), 81-91. doi:https://doi.org/10.31258/raje.2.2.81-91
- Tarighi, H., Salehi, M., Moradi, M., & Zimon, G. (2022). Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and Audit Fee: Conflicting Evidence from Iran. Economies, 10(2), 1-42. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10020039
- Tarlani, Dariah, A. R., & Rani, A. M. (2022). Transforming Rural Economy Through Community-Based Tourism with Village-Owned Enterprise (BUMDES, Badan Usaha Milik Desa)-A Case Study: Cibiru Wetan, Pagerwangi and Cipamekar Villages, Indonesia. International Journal of Sustainable Development & Planning, 17(5), 1-8. doi:https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.170517
- Taylor-Gooby, P. (2008). Reframing Social Citizenship. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Tejada, J. J., & Punzalan, J. R. B. (2012). On the Misuse of Slovin’s Formula. The philippine statistician, 61(1), 129-136.
- Tsai, C.-H., & Mutuc, E. B. (2020). Evidence in Asian Food Industry: Intellectual Capital, Corporate Financial Performance, and Corporate Social Responsibility. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2), 1-21. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020663
- Wold, S., Sjöström, M., & Eriksson, L. (2001). PLS-Regression: A Basic Tool of Chemometrics. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 58(2), 109-130. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7439(01)00155-1
- Zakrzewska, M., Ahn, M., Biglieri, J., Zascerinska, J., & Gruenwald, N. (2017). The Role of Social Participation in the Concept of Good Governance-A Theoretical Approach. Public Policy and Administration, 16(4), 529-537. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.13165/VPA-17-16-4-01