Abstract
To relieve the burden of increasing elderly services, enhancing social capital in the community is a practical and feasible strategy. Social capital is about the shared values that a group of individual working together to achieve a positive outcome. It is essential to actively promote social capital in the community because it allows the individuals, particularly volunteers, to link together by sharing their skills, time and even assets. The outcome of enhancing social capital can be tangible or intangible in elderly services. Participation of volunteers is undoubtedly a key element in the services provided for the ageing population. Volunteers, both the young and older adults, can help facilitate the use of social capital in the community. One of the emerging initiatives in social capital is time banking. Time banking is about the exchange of the time of volunteers to provide services for the elderly and earn personal time credit to exchange for services when necessary, usually at a later stage when the individual’s need arises. It is a virtuous cycle to sustain the service exchange by enhancing social capital. In achieving a holistic and humanistic care to the elderly, time banking in the community has the potential to alleviate the service demand and burden arising from an increasing ageing population as in the case of Hong Kong. The adoption of time banking in different countries will be analysed for better understanding of the operations and effectiveness of time banking.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S. W. (2002). Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy of Management Review, 27(1), 17–40. https://doi.org/10.2307/4134367
Baker, W. E. (1990). Market networks and corporate behavior. American Journal of Sociology, 96(3), 589–625. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2781065
Bekkers, R. (2012). Trust and volunteering: Selection or causation? Evidence from a 4 year panel study. Political Behavior, 34(2), 225–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-011-9165-x
Boyle, D. (2011). More than money. NEF, Nesta. Retrieved from http://www.meansofexchange.com/reportdownloads/LETS-More-Than-Money.pdf
Boyle, D., Clarke, S., & Burns, S. (2006). Hidden work: Co-production by people outside paid employment. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Burt, R. (2001). Structural holes versus network closure as social capital. In N. Lin, K. Cook, & R. S. Burt (Eds.), Social Capital: Theory and Research (pp. 31–56). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315129457-2
Burt, R. S. (1995). Structural holes: The social structure of competition. Harvard University Press.
Carr, D. C., Kail, B. L., & Rowe, J. W. (2018). The relation of volunteering and subsequent changes in physical disability in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 73(3), 511–521. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx102
Carroll, J. M. (2013, June). Co-production scenarios for mobile time banking. In International Symposium on End User Development (pp. 137–152). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38706-7_11
Chastonay, P., Weber, D., & Mattig, T. (2018). The health of older people in Switzerland. Journal of Public Health International, 1(2), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.14302/issn.2641-4538.jphi-18-2426
Cheung, C. K., Lo, T. W., & Liu, E. S. C. (2016). Sustaining social trust and volunteer role identity reciprocally over time in pre-adult, adult, and older volunteers. Journal of Social Service Research, 42(1), 70–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2015.1078267
Chiu, C. M., Hsu, M. H., & Wang, E. T. (2006). Understanding knowledge sharing in virtual communities: An integration of social capital and social cognitive theories. Decision Support Systems, 42(3), 1872–1888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2006.04.001
Chou, W. H., & Lee, L. H. (2015). Investigating the preferences for time banking for senior citizens: Local needs and constraints in the context of Taiwanese culture. Bulletin of Japanese Society for the Science of Design, 61(5), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.11247/jssdj.61.5_97
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95–S120.
Colligan, P. (2011). Public services as a platform for giving. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78914/philip-colligan-essay_0.pdf
Collom, E. (2007). The motivations, engagement, satisfaction, outcomes, and demographics of time bank participants: Survey findings from a US system. International Journal of Community Currency Research, 11, 36–83. https://doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2007.004
Collom, E., & Lasker, J. N. (2016). Equal time, equal value: Community currencies and time banking in the US. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315580159
Dávila, M. C. (2018). The relationship between social networks and volunteerism among seniors. Journal of Social Service Research, 44(1), 38–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2017.1395382
Eskelinen, T. (2018). Social space for self-organising: An exploratory study of timebanks in Finland and in the UK. Nordic Journal of Social Research, 9, 89–109. https://doi.org/10.7577/njsr.2148
Fatoki, O. O. (2011). The impact of human, social and financial capital on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. Journal of Social Sciences, 29(3), 193–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2011.11892970
Florin, J., Lubatkin, M., & Schulze, W. (2003). A social capital model of high-growth ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 46(3), 374–384. https://doi.org/10.2307/30040630
Gilbert, K. L., Quinn, S. C., Goodman, R. M., Butler, J., & Wallace, J. (2013). A meta-analysis of social capital and health: A case for needed research. Journal of Health Psychology, 18(11), 1385–1399. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105311435983
Glanville, J. L., Paxton, P., & Wang, Y. (2016). Social capital and generosity: A multilevel analysis. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 45(3), 526–547. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764015591366
Gregory, L. (2009). Change takes time: Exploring structural and development issues of time banking. International Journal of Community Currency Research, 13, 19–32. https://doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2009.003
Gregory, L. (2012a). Local people rebuilding their communities—An exploration of Welsh time banking. Contemporary Wales, 25(1), 40–57.
Gregory, L. (2012b). Time and punishment: A comparison of UK and US time bank use in criminal justice systems. Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, 28(3), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/17486831.2012.742452
Gregory, L. (2015). Trading time: Can exchange lead to social change?. Policy Press. https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trading-time
Han, K., Shih, P. C., Bellotti, V., & Carroll, J. M. (2014). Timebanking with a smartphone application. Collective Intelligence Conference. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1253.3120
Hayashi, M. (2012). Japan’s Fureai Kippu time-banking in elderly care: Origins, development, challenges and impact. International Journal of Community Currency Research, 16(A), 30–44. https://doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2012.003
Ho, H. C. (2017). Elderly volunteering and psychological well-being. International Social Work, 60(4), 1028–1038. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872815595111
Hooper, C. J., Nind, M., Parsons, S., Power, A., & Collis, A. (2015). Building a social machine: Co-designing a TimeBank for inclusive research. In Proceedings of the ACM Web Science Conference (pp. 1–9). https://doi.org/10.1145/2786451.2786472
Hondao Senior Citizen’s Welfare Foundation. (2006). Current services. http://www.hondao.org.tw/en/index.html
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui. (2018, August 12). Elderly in the Tseung Kwan O Aged Care Complex Serve as Volunteers and Accumulate Credits for the Zhi Fu Scheme (將軍澳安老大樓長者做義工儲分織福). http://echo.hkskh.org/issue.aspx?lang=2&id=3393&nid=5615
Jacobson, W., & MacMaster, P. (2000). Family support and time dollars: How to build community using social capital. Family Support America.
Jiang, D., Warner, L. M., Chong, A. M. L., Li, T., Wolff, J. K., & Chou, K. L. (2019). Promoting volunteering among older adults in Hong Kong: A randomized controlled trial. The Gerontologist, 60(5), 968–977. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnz076
Kakar, A. K. (2018). Investigating factors that promote time banking for sustainable community based socio-economic growth and development. Computers in Human Behaviour, 105623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.07.034
Kim, J., & Morgül, K. (2017). Long-term consequences of youth volunteering: Voluntary versus involuntary service. Social Science Research, 67, 160–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.05.002
Kumi, R., & Sabherwal, R. (2018). Performance consequences of social capital in online communities: The roles of exchange and combination, and absorptive capacity. Computers in Human Behavior, 86, 337–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.008
Kwon, M., Lee, C., Xiao, Y., & McIntosh, W. A. (2019). Community currency activities, community attachment, and quality of life: A case study of the crooked river alliance of TimeBanks. Time & Society, 28(3), 1181–1220. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X17716737
Laamanen, M., Wahlen, S., & Campana, M. (2015). Mobilising collaborative consumption lifestyles: A comparative frame analysis of time banking. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(5), 459–467. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12190
Lee, S. Y. D., Chen, W. L., & Weiner, B. J. (2004). Communities and hospitals: Social capital, community accountability, and service provision in US community hospitals. Health Services Research, 39(5), 1487–1508. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2004.00300.x
Leung, W. K., Shi, S., & Chow, W. S. (2019). Impacts of user interactions on trust development in C2C social commerce. Internet Research, 30(1), 335–356. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-09-2018-0413
Lin, C.-Y., & Ho, Y.-H. (2011). Determinants of green practice adoption for logistics companies in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(1), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0535-9
Mannino, C. A., Snyder, M., & Omoto, A. M. (2011). Why do people get involved? Motivations for volunteerism and other forms of social action. In D. Dunning (Ed.), Social motivation (pp. 127–146). Psychology Press.
Marks, M. B. (2012). Time banking service exchange systems: A review of the research and policy and practice implications in support of youth in transition. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(7), 1230–1236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.02.017
Martinez, I. L., Crooks, D., Kim, K. S., & Tanner, E. (2011). Invisible civic engagement among older adults: Valuing the contributions of informal volunteering. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 26(1), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-011-9137-y
Matthew, R. A. (2020). Banking on community: The use of time banking as an innovative community practice teaching strategy. Journal of Community Practice, 28(3), 254–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2020.1796877
Miller, A., Simpson, B., Lieben, J., & Simpson, B. J. (2011). Understanding the role of volunteerism in creating social inclusion. South West Communities Resource Centre.
Morrow-Howell, N. (2010). Volunteering in later life: Research frontiers. Journals of Gerontology Series b: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65(4), 461–469. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbq024
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 242–266. https://doi.org/10.2307/259373
Ng, D. (2017, April 21). Time bank lets Japan’s seniors swop services for free—from cleaning to companionship. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/time-bank-lets-japan-s-seniors-swop-services-for-free-from-clean-8755056
Ng, T., Yim, N. & Fong, B. (2019). Time banking for elderly in Hong Kong: current practice and challenges (CAHMR Working Paper Series No. 2, Issue 1, 2019). The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, College of Professional and Continuing Education, School of Professional Education and Executive Development, Centre for Ageing and Healthcare Management Research, Hong Kong. http://weblib.cpcepolyu.edu.hk/apps/wps/assets/pdf/cw20190102.pdf
Peltokoski, J. Toivakainen, N., Toivanen, T., and van der Wekken, R. (2015). In D. Bollier, & S. Helfrich (Eds.), Patterns of communing (pp. 401–409). Commons strategy group and off the Common Press.
Putnam, R. D. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.1995.0002
Rochester, C., Paine, A. E., Howlett, S., Zimmeck, M., & Paine, A. E. (2016). Volunteering and Society in the 21st Century. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230279438
Russell, A. R., Nyame-Mensah, A., de Wit, A., & Handy, F. (2019). Volunteering and wellbeing among ageing adults: A longitudinal analysis. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 30(1), 115–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-018-0041-8
Ryan-Collins, J., Stephens, L., & Coote, A. (2008). The new wealth of time: How timebanking helps people build better public services. NEF.
Sasananan, M., Channarong, K., & Kingnakhonthong, S. (2019). Preliminary study of time banking participation. Quality Production Improvement-QPI, 1(1), 618–622. https://doi.org/10.2478/cqpi-2019-0083
Seppala, E., Rossomando, T., & Doty, J. R. (2013). Social connection and compassion: Important predictors of health and well-being. Social Research: An International Quarterly, 80(2), 411–430.
Seyfang, G., & Smith, K. (2002). The time of our lives: Using time banking for neighbourhood renewal and community capacity building. New Economics Foundation.
Sherman, N. E., Michel, R., Rybak, C., Randall, G. K., & Davidson, J. (2011). Meaning in life and volunteerism in older adults. Adultspan Journal, 10(2), 78–90. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0029.2011.tb00127.x
Stam, W., Arzlanian, S., & Elfring, T. (2014). Social capital of entrepreneurs and small firm performance: A meta-analysis of contextual and methodological moderators. Journal of Business Venturing, 29(1), 152–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.01.002
Stukas, A. A., Daly, M., & Cowling, M. J. (2005). Volunteerism and social capital: A functional approach. Australian Journal on Volunteering, 10(2), 35–44.
Taiwan Time Bank Association. (2019). Home page. http://www.timebank.org.tw/
Tang, F., Choi, E., & Morrow-Howell, N. (2010). Organizational support and volunteering benefits for older adults. The Gerontologist, 50(5), 603–612. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnq020
The moneyland.ch. (n.d.). Time banking and time-based currency in Switzerland. https://www.moneyland.ch/en/time-banking-currency-switzerland-guide
Thoele, A. (2012, March 04). Swiss city set to launch elderly care “bank”. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-city-set-to-launch-elderly-care--bank-/32209234
TimeBanks USA. (n.d.). Home page. https://timebanks.org/
Tsai, W., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital and value creation: The role of intrafirm networks. Academy of Management Journal, 41(4), 464–476. https://doi.org/10.2307/257085
Träskman, T., & Hyde-Clarke, N. (2016). Assessing the potential for “cultural disruption” through sharing economy: A case study of a time bank in Helsinki. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 4(6), 111–120. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2016.46012
TVB News. (2019, January 6). Time banking (時間銀行) [Video file]. http://news.tvb.com/programmes/sundayreport/5c319987e603838f2224e18f/%E6%99%82%E9 %96%93%E9%8A%80%E8%A1%8C
University Grants Committee. (2020). Faculty development scheme (FDS)—project abstract. https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/fds/funded%20research/fds2021_abstract.html#FDS24/B04
Wamba, S. F., Gunasekaran, A., Akter, S., Ren, S.J.-F., Dubey, R., & Childe, S. J. (2017). Big data analytics and firm performance: Effects of dynamic capabilities. Journal of Business Research, 70, 356–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.08.009
Wang, L., & Graddy, E. (2008). Social capital, volunteering, and charitable giving. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 19(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-008-9055-y
Wei, Y., Donthu, N., & Bernhardt, K. L. (2012). Volunteerism of older adults in the United States. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 9(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17525098.2010.492653
Williams, C. C. (2004). Informal volunteering: Some lessons from the United Kingdom. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 23(3), 613–616. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.20030
Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1), 215–240. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.215
Wu, M. J., & Chou, Y. H. (2017). Exploratory study on the implementation of time banking in Taiwan: Perspectives from social network analysis. Journal of Community Work and Community Studies, 7(2), 45–96. https://doi.org/10.29755/JCWCS
Wu, W. P. (2008). Dimensions of social capital and firm competitiveness improvement: The mediating role of information sharing. Journal of Management Studies, 45(1), 122–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00741.x
Yuan, C. W., Hanrahan, B. V., & Carroll, J. M. (2018). Is there social capital in service exchange tools?. Investigating timebanking use and social capital development. Computers in Human Behavior, 81, 274–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.12.029
Yuan, C. W., Hanrahan, B. V., & Carroll, J. M. (2019). Assessing timebanking use and coordination: Implications for service exchange tools. Information Technology & People, 32(2), 344–363. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-09-2017-0311
Acknowledgements
The work described in this chapter was partially supported by two grants from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project Reference No.: UGC/IDS24/18 and UGC/FDS24/B04/20).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ng, T.K.C., Fong, B.Y.F., Leung, W.K.S. (2022). Enhancing Social Capital for Elderly Services with Time Banking. In: Law, V.T.S., Fong, B.Y.F. (eds) Ageing with Dignity in Hong Kong and Asia. Quality of Life in Asia, vol 16. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3061-4_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3061-4_26
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-19-3060-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-19-3061-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)