Social capital and innovation in industrial clusters: an evidence from case of family and non-family firms in Turkey

Abstract

The academic discourse in economic geography and regional development has been focused on aspect of socio-cultural of industrial clusters accepted as an engine of economic and regional growth until two decades. Aspects of socio-cultural of economic activities have been highlighted by new terms such as relational economic geography, relational turn and cultural turn in economic geography and regional development. The role of socio-cultural for economic geography and regional development has been discussed with “social capital” hypothesis in literature. Social capital effect on positive social and economic development refers to norms, trust, networks, and proximity occurred between economic factors. Social capital is a key notion providing reciprocity learning and absorption of knowledge and information in industrial cluster and firms.

In this context, the purpose of this paper is to determine how the innovation performance of family firms according to social capital potential differs from that of non-family firms. In this study it was analysed with descriptive methods in the context of data obtained from surveys and in-depth interviews from Turkey how innovation performance of family firms differs in terms of different social capital potential from that one of non- family firms. The main hypothesis about the source of the social capital is that the actors formed across diverse social group and/or non-family are more innovative than actors formed across homogeneous social group and/or family. As the result of this study regarding to analysis and in-depth interviews, social capital formed across homogeneous actors provided significant advantages for family firms in the establishment process of a new firm. Cultural and social characteristics of actors were determinant factors on their social capital potential. Thus, components of social capital were decisive on innovation activities for both of family and non-family firms.