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Social capital as a driver of local knowledge exchange: a social network analysis

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Knowledge Management Research & Practice

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to take an in-depth look, from a network perspective, at the role that social capital plays in improving knowledge exchange between organizations. To do this, we consider the three dimensions of social capital: the structural dimension, as measured by the position of firms bridging structural holes; the relational dimension, as gauged by the level of trust and friendship in each relationship; and the cognitive dimension, as estimated by the presence of a shared culture. We also evaluate the level of organizational and human capital present in terms of the firms in the network. Empirical evidence has been gathered from the Madrid Science Park in Spain by applying the social network analysis methodology. The results show that the three dimensions of social capital play a significant role in increasing knowledge exchange in this network, while human and organizational capital differences are only significant for a sub-sample.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (ECO-2008-01116, ECO2011-29445, ECO2009-13818; ECO2012-36775), PIRSES-GA-2013-610350, and Cátedra Bancaja Jóvenes Emprendedores.

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  1. Departamento de Organización de Empresas, CUNEF Business School, Ikujiro Nonaka Centre, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Isabel Díez-Vial & Ángeles Montoro-Sánchez

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  1. Isabel Díez-Vial
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  2. Ángeles Montoro-Sánchez
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Correspondence to Isabel Díez-Vial.

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Díez-Vial, I., Montoro-Sánchez, Á. Social capital as a driver of local knowledge exchange: a social network analysis. Knowl Manage Res Pract 12, 276–288 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2014.7

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