Firm Social Capital and Technological Capital: Complement or Substitute for Innovation Performance?

Social capital and technological capital are firm strategic resources that are critical to firm innovation. Extant studies are inconclusive regarding the impact of their interaction on firm innovation outcomes. Some studies have found complementary evidence of the two in improving innovation outcomes, while others have suggested substituting effect of the two. This proposed research project aims to shed light on this research gap by proposing three alternative explanations. We suggest that the diverging findings, in the relationship between the joint effect of firm’s two key strategic capitals and innovation performance, can be better explained by examining the intermediate role of knowledge sharing with its partners, distinguishing the effects of internal and external social capital, and identifying potential managerial level contingencies, such as transformational leadership, in the relationships.

The project extends the investigators’ current research programs on product innovation and on social capital and aims at filling up a significant research gap in innovation literature. This study will contribute to our understanding of how the interactions between social capital and technological capital of a firm influence its innovation performance as well as the potential contingencies in the process. More importantly, the study will provide insights for companies in how to leverage its social capital and technological capital for a better innovation performance.