TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the mediating effect of the identification of valuable external knowledge on the relationship between the development of inter-organizational ties (structural social capital) and the acquisition of external knowledge.Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 87 firms from Spanish biotechnology and pharmaceutics industries, the authors have tested the proposed mediation hypothesis by applying the partial least squares technique to a structural equations model.Findings The study results show that those firms with stronger, more frequent and closer inter-relationships are able to increase the amount of intentionally acquired knowledge, partly due to the greater level of development of their knowledge identification capability. Thus, firms with a higher capability to recognize the value of the knowledge embedded in their inter-organizational networks will be more likely to design better strategies to acquire and integrate such knowledge into their current knowledge bases for either present or future use.Originality/value This research contributes to knowledge management and social capital literature by means of the study of two key determinants of knowledge acquisition – structural social capital and knowledge identification capability – and the explanation of their relationships of mutual influence. The paper thus tries to fill this literature gap and connects the relational perspective of social capital with the knowledge-based view from a strategic point of view.
VL  - 26
IS  - 1
SN  - 2444-8451
DO  - 10.1108/EJMBE-07-2017-004
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-07-2017-004
AU  - Ortiz Beatriz
AU  - Donate Mario J.
AU  - Guadamillas Fátima
PY  - 2017
Y1  - 2017/01/01
TI  - Relationships between structural social capital, knowledge identification capability and external knowledge acquisition
T2  - European Journal of Management and Business Economics
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 48
EP  - 66
Y2  - 2024/09/19
ER  -