Social capital, knowledge management and innovation performance

Abstract

The present study was conducted to explain the role of social capital in innovation performance with the mediating effect of knowledge management in knowledge-based companies. The population in the present descriptive survey included all knowledge-based companies established in the Science and Technology Park of Tehran University. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling and WarpPLS-5 software. The results indicated that social capital affects organisational knowledge management; however, its effects vary based on the type of activities. It was also shown that social capital affects soft knowledge management activities (including creation and transfer of knowledge), but its impact on hard knowledge management activities is not significant. Moreover, it was found that improving knowledge management in companies requires the availability of appropriate structures and technologies in addition to trust-based interactions between organisational members or, in other words, the development of organisational social capital.