Corporate social capital and enterprise performance of technology-based SMEs: The mediating role of knowledge integration ability

Qingjuan Zhu, Supa Tongkong, Nartraphee Tancho

Article ID: 2726
Vol 8, Issue 1, 2024

VIEWS - 596 (Abstract) 458 (PDF)

Abstract


How to improve enterprise performance has been a research topic widely studied by scholars for a long time. As economic globalization deepens, the business competition becomes increasingly harsh. Technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the rapid development of the country’s economy, especially in China. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of knowledge integration capability in the relationship between corporate social capital and enterprise performance. The sample group used in this study were 300 technology-based SMEs in China. The research tool was a questionnaire adapted from previous scholars, which passed assessment in terms of content validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. The results show that: 1) corporate social capital has a positive impact on enterprise performance, but the impact differs between well-performing and poor-performing enterprises; and 2) knowledge integration ability plays a mediating role in the relationship between corporate social capital and enterprise performance, and the mediating role is the same for both well-performing and poor-performing enterprises. But it played a partial mediating role in the good-performance comparison group and a complete mediating role in the poor-performance comparison group. This study is useful for enterprise management in cultivating and developing the abundant social capital of enterprises and expanding channels for knowledge integration ability to increase enterprise performance.


Keywords


corporate social capital; knowledge integration ability; enterprise performance; technology-based SMEs

Full Text:

PDF


References


Collins CJ, Clark KD (2003). Strategic human resource practices, top management team social networks, and firm performance: The role of human resource practices in creating organizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Journal 46(6): 740-751. doi: 10.2307/30040665

Deng X (2010). Research on the Correlation between Social Capital and Credit Level of SMEs [Master’s thesis]. Harbin University of Technology.

Florida R, Robert C, Gary G (2002). When social capital stifles innovation. Harvard Business Review 11: 32-38.

Liu LP (2006). Social capital of enterprises: Conceptual reflection and measurement approach also comment on Bian Y.J & Qiu H.X’s “Social capital of enterprises and its effectiveness”. Sociological Research (2): 204-216.

Li PY (2012). Research on the Impact of Corporate Social Capital on Corporate Performance in the Chinese Context [Master’s thesis]. Zhejiang University of Technology and Industry.

Liu LG, Meng W (2016). Cross-border Search and Innovation Performance of Technology-based SMEs. Economic Management Press.

Cooke P, Clifton N (2002). Social Capital and Smes Performance in the United Kingdom, Entrepreneurship in the Modern Space-Economy: Evolutionary and Policy Perspectives. Tinbergen Institute.

Zheng SL, Chen GZ (2002). Enterprise social capital accumulation and enterprise competitive advantage. Productivity Research (01): 133-135.

Zheng MQ, Cai L (2005). Analysis of the effect of social capital on the performance of high-tech enterprises. Industrial Technology Economics (02): 73-74, 77.

Xie HM, Wu LZ, Wang C, et al. (2006). Knowledge integration: The role of internal social capital and organizational culture: An empirical study of enterprises in South China. Scientific Management Research (04): 65-77.

Chen JX, Pan CC, Wu LZ, et al. (2008). Internal social capital, knowledge integration and core competence. Soft Science (06): 16-21.

Jian ZQ, Wu LZ, Huang J, et al. (2008). Research on the impact of absorptive capacity and knowledge integration on organizational innovation and organizational performance. Scientific Research Management (1): 80-96.

Luo HY, Zhang QP (2015). Research on the breakthrough technological innovation process of new technological small enterprises from the perspective of knowledge management. Science and Technology Management 36(3): 143-151.

Hou GW, Xue HF (2017). Cluster network relationship, knowledge acquisition and collaborative innovation performance. Scientific Research Management 38(4): 1-9.

Xie HM, Wang C, Luo Hl , et al. (2007). Research on the relationship between learning, knowledge integration and innovation. Nankai Management Review 10(2): 105-112.

Jiang TY, Sun W, Bai ZX, et al. (2013). The formation mechanism of competitive advantage of small, medium-sized and micro enterprises based on market orientation-knowledge integration and organizational innovation as intermediaries. Scientific Research Management 6: 17-24.

Wu JJ, Dai Y (2013). Entrepreneurs’ social network, organizational capacity and growth performance of cluster enterprises. Journal of Management 10(4): 516-523.

Nahapiet J, Ghoshal S (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of management review, 23(2), 242-266.

Gong HQ, Lin J (2007). Relationship cognition, relationship operation and enterprise performance: An empirical study from private SMEs in Guangdong Province. Nankai Management Review 45-53.

Feng CL, Cheng Y (2020). Meta analysis of open innovation and enterprise performance. Research Management 41(1): 108-118.

Guo RP, Cai L (2017). Dual knowledge integration, entrepreneurial ability and high-tech new enterprise performance. Scientific Research (2).

Lu F (2019). Research on the Mechanism of Social Capital’s influence on Firm Performance: Using Innovation Speed and Innovation Quality as Intermediaries [Master’s thesis]. Harbin University of Technology.

Gorsuch RL (1988). Exploratory factor analysis. In Handbook of multivariate experimental psychology(pp. 231-258). Boston, MA: Springer US.

Bagozzi RP, Yi Y (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 16, 74-94.

Maskell P (1999). Social capital and regional development. North, The Journal of Nordregio, 10, 9-13.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i1.2726

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023 Qingjuan Zhu, Supa Tongkong, Nartraphee Tancho

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.