Trapped or spurred by the home region? The effects of potential social capital on involvement in foreign markets for goods and technology
Journal article, Peer reviewed
Permanent lenke
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/276400Utgivelsesdato
2012Metadata
Vis full innførselSamlinger
- Articles (SOL) [178]
Sammendrag
Drawing on social capital theory and the international business literature, we
argue that domestic geography, in terms of localized potential social capital,
facilitates individual firms’ awareness of business opportunities, including
knowledge related to involvement in the foreign markets for goods and tech-
nology, thereby enhancing firms’ involvement in those foreign markets. When
potential social capital reaches a certain threshold, it may work to trap firms
into operating only within their home regions, thus reducing involvement in
foreign markets. We conjecture that firms’ research and development invest-
ment moderates the relationship between potential social capital and degree of
involvement in foreign markets, but given the very different properties of the
two markets, with different signs for each market: a positive moderation effect
for the markets for goods, and a negative effect for the markets for technology.
We find empirical support for our arguments based on a representative sample
of around 2000 Italian firms.
Beskrivelse
OPEN ACCESS