An Empirical Study On The Influence Of Corporate Social Capital On Absorptive Capacity

Economic globalization and advancement of information technology have boosted the development of company's network, and the concept of corporate social capital has become one of the latest interpretations of this trend. Absorptive capacity has become a company's necessary ability to build its competitive advantage in a knowledge-based economy. Absorbing and using external knowledge effectively is one of the operating strategies of most enterprises to cope with worldwide competition. Research of the relations between corporate social capital and absorptive capacity needs to be advanced to guide business practice.This article tries to deconstruct the concept of corporate social capital and absorptive capacity to advance the research toward relationships between them. From the perspective of corporate internal and external relations, corporate social capital consists of internal social capital and external social capital, and a comprehensive study of relationships between corporate social capital and the absorptive capacity must take both of these two parts into account. On the other hand, building upon the dynamic capabilities view of the firm, we distinguish between a firm's potential and realized absorptive capacity, and the two parts of social capital have different influence on these two dimensions of absorptive capacity. In addition, uncertainty is a nature characteristic of organizational environment. Based on the relations between a firm and other external actors, absorptive capacity is more a relative capacity which is affected by organizational environment.The paper advances a concept model outlining relationships among social capital, absorptive capacity and environmental uncertainty, and then hypotheses are proposed according to the model. Structured questionnaire is designed and questionnaire data from 78 manufacturing enterprises in Shandong Province are processed to test hypotheses and concept model through SPSS. Subsequent correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis get the following results: the positive relationship between external social capital and potential absorptive capacity is significant, so is that between internal social capital and realized absorptive capacity; the probable inverted-U relationship between internal social capital and potential absorptive capacity is not supported by empirical data, nor is that between external social capital and realized absorptive capacity; the moderating role of environmental uncertainty is confirmed in the relationship between external social capital and potential absorptive capacity, but not in the relationship between internal social capital and realized absorptive capacity. The model modified according to the results of hypothesis testing shows the following conclusions: external social capital has a positive effect on potential absorptive capacity, which is strengthened by environmental uncertainty; both the two parts of social capital have positive effect on realized absorptive capacity.