Exploring the roles of social capital and team‐efficacy in virtual entrepreneurial team performance

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role various forms of social capital play in the performance of entrepreneurial teams in a virtual context.Design/methodology/approachThe relationships between various social capital dimensions – i.e. relational capital, cognitive capital, entrepreneurial orientation and team‐efficacy – and entrepreneurial team performance are investigated. Students in an upper division course were assigned to a project team in which they consulted with a company and collaborated virtually among team members to develop a database to add value to an existing company's operations. Respondents’ perceptions of team social capital were measured via an online survey. Team performance was evaluated independently by course instructors.FindingsResults reveal that the perceptions of social capital in the form of relational capital, cognitive capital and entrepreneurial orientation are significantly positive predictors of team‐efficacy. Moreover, team‐efficacy is a strong positive predictor of entrepreneurial team performance in a virtual context. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.Originality/valueThis study makes three contributions to entrepreneurship research. First, it extends previous theory by systematically identifying the influence of a number of social capital dimensions as antecedents to entrepreneurial team performance. Second, empirical results extend our understanding of the impact of social capital by highlighting the distinction between social capital as a static and dynamic resource. The third contribution of this study is our explicit focus on how social capital resources might be identified and strategically leveraged in contemporary (e.g. virtual) contexts.