Social capital, relational capital and technological innovation. Empirical evidence in Spanish high and medium-high technology manufacturing firms

In the current socio-economic context, an important source of firm success relies on its continued efforts devoted in the area of technological innovation. The above mentioned efforts are the result of a shared action among all or the majority of members and organizational units of a firm, as well as of the relations that it can develop with its customers, allies, suppliers, etc. In this sense, and based on the Open Innovation perspective, we could analyse social and relational capital as key factors to achieve technological innovation and, then, firm success. Taking into account these arguments, and using the Intellectual Capital-based View, this research - for a sample of 251 firms - tries to give empirical evidence about the role of social and relational capital on product and process innovation. The obtained results show the key role of both capitals on technological innovation for the case of Spanish technology-based industries, emphasizing the inter-organizational relationships among the firm with its customers and suppliers. (C) 2010 ACEDE. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.