A Social Capital Perspective of Innovation from Individuals to Nations: Where is Empirical Literature Directing Us?

Social capital is regarded as the bedrock of innovation. However, inadequate efforts have been made to synthesize the way in which different components of social capital dynamically influence innovation. This paper reviews existing empirical studies on the relationship between social capital and innovation of the individual, team, organization, city and nation. Analyses were carried out to identify consensus, discordances and gaps in the social capital-innovation connection. The findings suggested that the structural components of social capital, including ego network size, structural holes, tie strength and centrality have a significant impact on innovation. Their impact, however, tends to be moderated by contextual and intellectual factors, such as the nature and type of innovation, internal vs external ties, costs of maintaining the ties and existing intellectual capital. The relational components of social capital, trust and cognitive norms, demonstrated a consistently positive relationship with innovation across contexts. The cognitive components of social capital have not sufficiently established their contribution to innovation apart from the other two dimensions. Several insights regarding the general literature on social capital and innovation were identified, including the conceptualization of social capital, measurement of innovation, and the causal relationship between social capital and innovation. Suggestions are offered for future research agenda. Implications for managerial practices based on the study findings are also drawn.