부산대학교 도서관

Complex agri-environmental issues cannot be solved through the work of an isolated farmer; rather, tackling these issues requires groups of farmers and land managers to work together, engaging with more sustainable practices. To ensure their work is effective, individuals must form a cohesive group in which all members are prepared to work towards a shared goal. The Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund (CSFF) provides an intentional investment in the development of social and intellectual capital in farmer and land manager groups in England, such that they may work together successfully. This thesis examines the work of four CSFF groups to understand the extent to which group membership prepares individual farmers and land managers for collective action using Nahapiet and Ghoshal's theory of social and intellectual capital and the organisational advantage. It draws on the findings from 21 interviews with farmers and land managers, four interviews with group facilitators and four interviews with staff from group partner organisations. In addition, participant observation was conducted at six group events to examine group relationships and the process of intellectual capital exchange. The results build on previous findings which demonstrate the importance of social capital in the collective management of natural resources. Specifically, this work explores the role of the facilitator in social capital development, the importance of continuity during group development, the drivers of, and barriers to, the combination and exchange of intellectual capital, and the preconditions required for collective action to occur. The findings are used to develop an extension of Nahapiet and Ghoshal's framework. This thesis demonstrates that the development of social, intellectual, and natural capital are interdependent. It argues for policy which better supports the formation of relationships in which farmers and land managers feel able to work with their peers to deliver landscape-scale environmental change.