Configuration Of Social Capital Research Articles

Entrepreneurial collaboration for R&D alliance performance: a role of social capital configuration

PurposeDespite increasing research on the social nature of entrepreneurial collaboration in the context of alliances, its performance implication has been under debate. The present study tests a theoretical framework to elucidate the mediated relationship between social capital (SC) and research and development (R&D) alliance performance through the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of alliance firms.Design/methodology/approachBased on the authors’ literature review, SC is conceptualized as the sum of actual and potential assets, including structural, relational and cognitive capital, embedded within the networks of alliance partners. Alliance performance is regarded as a combination of technological performance and business performance, corresponding to the mutual and private benefits of R&D alliances, respectively. This study hypothesizes the potential impact of SC on alliance performance and the mediating role of EO in the relationship.FindingsThe results from an analysis of 218 Korean ventures that participated in R&D alliance projects as focal alliance partners show that each SC dimension drives alliance firms to enact EO, which eventually leads to increased performance in technology and business. Specifically, EO contributes to translating the implications of SC for technological performance partially and for business performance completely.Originality/valueThis study links fragmented theoretical perspectives in research, shedding new light on the importance of social nature in the context of R&D alliances, which conditions entrepreneurial collaboration for better alliance performance. The findings suggest that practitioners should adopt an ambidextrous approach to the SC–EO interface at the alliance level, which opens a gateway to achieve greater performance by alliance.

Social Capital Configuration Variation and the Contemporary Transformation of Rural Vietnam1

Social Capital Configuration Variation and the Contemporary Transformation of Rural Vietnam¹

Participative Governance as Internal Social Capital Configuration in Family Firms (WITHDRAWN)

Family firms benefit from familiness which refers to internal social capital and capabilities that are related to the family involvement in the business. However, how internal social capital is transformed into value adding activities that can subsequently enhance international firm performance remains unanswered. Based on the data collected from an emerging economy, our findings show that the positive effect of internal social capital on international firm performance is channelled through the resource configuration process by participative governance. Participative governance refers to the involvement of family members in addition to board members in designing strategic objectives and implementing them.

Influence of Social Identity on Negative Perceptions in Global Virtual Teams

The paper combines insights from social identity theory and organizational network theory to specify the conditions under which social capital can induce negative attitudes in global virtual teams. The structural configuration of social capital has crucial implications for the sociocognitive processes causing individuals to adopt negative attitudes to out-group members. The paper evaluates both the negative implications of structural configurations on out-group perceptions, which are important precursors to successful intergroup interaction in global virtual teams. We collected data from 160 actors across 40 global virtual teams embedded within three separate organizations. 34 social identity groups were detected and ties between and within the groups were investigated. Our analyses provide insights on the roles of social identity groupings and social capital as well as in-group brokerage and interactions on (negative) perceptions of other group members in global virtual teams.

The role of HRM and social capital configuration for knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration: a framework for future empirical investigation

The literature on human resource management (HRM) indicates that HRM plays an important role in merger and acquisition (M&A) integration success, but pays little attention to the mechanisms for knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration. Limited work has been carried out to provide understanding on how social capital and HRM practices influence intra-organizational knowledge sharing in M&A integration. This paper primarily focuses on the phenomenon of social capital and HRM practices – one of the primary means by which knowledge sharing can occur within firms. The main aim of this paper is to provide an alternative framework that introduces the literature on HRM and social capital to discuss how HRM practices and the various dimensions of social capital may enhance knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration. Drawing on the literature on social capital and HRM, we offer an alternative view on the issue of knowledge sharing in M&A integration by explaining how specific HRM practices that have an impact on employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities for participating in knowledge sharing activities may depend on relational, cognitive and structural social capital. We isolate a number of HRM practices and social capital variables that may enhance knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration, and develop a research model and propositions for future empirical investigation.

The Role of Social Capital in the Start-Up of Non-profit Organisations: The Case of Fondazione Welfare Ambrosiano

This article investigates how a start-up foundation can build its organisational social capital, meaning a network of strategic partnerships with other organisations based on trust relationships, in order to fulfil its mission. Based on a case study analysis of Fondazione Welfare Ambrosiano—an Italian foundation created in partnership with private organisations and local public institutions—we explored whether and how some characteristics of the social capital of the foundation’s members contributed to the organisational social capital. By applying Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (Acad Manag Rev 23(2):242–266, 1998) social capital framework, we discovered that the social capital configuration of the founders and staff, linked to some characteristics of the foundation, had driven the development of the organisational social capital. Our paper contributes to an understanding of what constitutes the best configuration of social capital to allow a start-up foundation to take off.

Social capital configuration and the contingent value of the cross-national diversity: A multi-group analysis

The present paper attempts take an in-depth look into the configuration of social capital as a multi-dimensional construct, and unlike other studies, the dimensions are interrelated, and all of this in a global inter-organizational context. This work also analyses the influence of the cross-national diversity of corporate governance on the configuration of social capital. A variance-based structural equation modelling (partial least squares) and the multi-group analysis have been applied to a sample consisting of 225 global contractors. The findings lead us to argue that the different dimensions of social capital configuration do not act independently, but they exert a certain effect among themselves, and also affect the international market share of the company. Furthermore, the way each company configures the dimensions of social capital dimensions will depend on the company's corporate governance style.

Social capital configuration, legal bonds and performance in buyer–supplier relationships

Academics have increasingly recognized the benefits derived from social networks embedded within companies’ buyer–supplier relationships. However, prior research has only examined the influence of social capital elements on performance, either individually or in part. We propose an integrative model examining the relationships among relational, structural and cognitive dimensions of social capital, and between these dimensions and the cost and innovation performance of the firm. A sample of 163 buyer–supplier relationships is used to test the model. Regression results indicate that the relational dimension of social capital fully or partially mediates the effect of the cognitive dimension on performance, and partially mediates the link between the structural dimension, operationalized as social interaction ties, and innovation performance. Further, high levels of legal bonds were found to moderate the relationship between the relational dimension of social capital and performance outcomes. Implications for theory and managers are discussed.

Social capital as social networks: A new framework for measurement and an empirical analysis of its determinants and consequences

The contribution of this paper to the social capital literature is threefold. First, we set up a new framework for measurement, allowing us to build indicators for five different dimensions of the concept. Second, we provide a single, synthetic, measure capturing that particular configuration of social capital which the literature generally associates with positive economic outcomes. Third, we carry out an empirical assessment of the relationships between the different types of social capital identified by our analysis and a range of socio-economic phenomena.

Social capital, collaborative exchange and microenterprise performance: the role of gender

The success or failure of microenterprises often depends on social capital, or to the resources and opportunities created through the interactions of people. Because a majority of new microenterprises are created by women, the role of gender needs to be examined in the context of microentrepreneurial social capital. Hence, this paper presents a conceptual model of the relationships between microentrepreneurs' gender, social capital configuration, collaborative exchange and microenterprise performance. The model proposes that the configuration of microentrepreneurs' social capital is defined through three attributes: network diversity, network size and relationship strength. These three attributes influence the collaborative exchange process, or the actions taken by microentrepreneurs to utilise their social capital and gain information and resources. This process, in turn, influences microenterprise performance. In addition, the model also proposes that gender affects the relationships between social capital, collaborative exchange and microenterprise performance.

Social Capital as Social Networks. A New Framework for Measurement

The contribution of this paper to the social capital literature is twofold. Drawing on the Italian data, it firstly provides a new framework for measurement, allowing to build indicators for five different components of the multidimensional concept of social Secondly, it provides a single, synthetic, measure capturing that particular configuration of social capital which the literature generally associates with positive economic outcomes. This measure is here referred to as developmental social capital.