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Social capital configuration, legal bonds and performance in buyer–supplier relationships
Author(s) -
Carey Sinéad,
Lawson Benn,
Krause Daniel R.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of operations management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.649
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1873-1317
pISSN - 0272-6963
DOI - 10.1016/j.jom.2010.08.003
Subject(s) - operationalization , social capital , cognitive dimensions of notations , relational capital , dimension (graph theory) , multilevel model , business , structural equation modeling , sample (material) , cognition , supplier relationship management , microeconomics , industrial organization , knowledge management , marketing , psychology , economics , sociology , computer science , intellectual capital , finance , supply chain , supply chain management , social science , philosophy , mathematics , chemistry , epistemology , chromatography , machine learning , neuroscience , pure mathematics
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.