Summary of studies

Abstract

In this dissertation, I have investigated antecedents of social capital in corporate innovation community settings. While extant studies often highlight the importance of communities in innovation processes (Judge et al., 1997; Sawhney & Prandelli, 2000) as well as the beneficial consequences of social capital in such settings (Dahlander & Frederiksen, 2012; McLure Wasko & Faraj, 2005), the literature to date lacks with respect to studies on the antecedents of social capital (Payne et al., 2011). To remedy this research gap, I have incorporated the complex nature of social capital and have considered both multiple dimensions (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998) as well as multiple levels of social capital (Payne et al., 2011). Through this theoretical lens, I have conducted two empirical studies within corporate innovation communities, one multiple case study (Part III) and one SEM approach (Part IV).