Determinants of transnational social capital: opportunity–investment–ability perspective

Abstract

This study suggests that it is critical for executives to develop transnational social capital (TSC), or professional relationships and ties that span national borders. We first provide a conceptual framework and careful operationalization of TSC that differentiates between bonding and bridging forms of social capital. We then examine the effect of three key determinants—opportunity, investment and ability—on the TSC of executives. Using detailed survey data on 227 executives, our analysis suggests that international experience, investment in communicating with cross-border ties and cosmopolitan ability have direct effects on overall TSC. We further demonstrate that international experience and cosmopolitan ability affect both bridging and bonding, but that investment in cross-border communication only affects bridging social capital. The study proposes that social capital is becoming more and more transnational as connections, interactions and transactions increasingly span national borders, which has implications for international business and human resource management. Given our findings, it would make sense for global organizations to pay more attention to these, if they would like their members to develop this resource. We point out benefits to organizations and individuals.