Wagner, Heinz-TheoHeinz-TheoWagnerBeimborn, DanielDanielBeimborn0000-0002-6294-0212Moos, BernhardBernhardMoos2024-02-012024-02-0120231363-9196https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/93214This research investigates how and to which extent the social capital inherent in a firm’s external relationships to diverse business partners contributes to the firm’s intellectual capital and in turn fosters its innovativeness. We apply the Social Capital Theory to an inter-organisational context and show how a firm’s social relationships with its various external partners contribute to its intellectual capital, and how these contributions differ between different types of partners (e.g., customers vs. suppliers). In contrast to intra-organisational contexts, we show that the association between social capital and intellectual capital is positive, neutral, or even negative depending on the external partner’s position vis-à-vis a firm’s supply chain and the type of knowledge. Using data from 153 German manufacturing firms, the results of a PLS-based analysis provide important insights into how and through which mechanisms firms can become successful innovators.engUncertain relevance of knowledgesocial capitalinnovativeness330article10.1142/s1363919623500378