The non-linear influences of social capital on knowledge transfer in international alliances: an analysis using multivariate adaptive regression splines

Abstract

This study applied multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) to explore the nonlinear relationships between social capital and knowledge transfer in international alliances. Using the social capital theory, several attributes were identified for the different dimensions of social capital between alliance partners, and the relationships between these attributes and knowledge transfer in international alliances were explored. Samples of 172 Taiwan-based international alliances were used for the empirical test. This study revealed that an instant communication system, an attribute of the structural dimension of social capital, has a nonlinear negative influence on knowledge transfer. Relational capital, an attribute of the relational dimension of social capital, has nonlinear and positive influences on knowledge transfer. Cooperation and competition relationships, attributes of the cognitive dimension of social capital, both have nonlinear and positive influences on knowledge transfer.