The Structure and Nature of Social Capital in the Relationship between Spin-Offs and Parent Companies in Information Technology Clusters in Brazil and Spain

Abstract

The objective of this research is to determine how proximity between organizations promotes the intensity of relationships and facilitates the exchange of information and knowledge in the relationship between the parent firm and the spin-off and its influence on organizational performance. Therefore, four constructs related to business competitiveness are integrated: networks, social capital, spin-offs, and innovation. The loci of the research were two clusters of Information and Communication Technology, with a sample of 166 companies in Brazil and 66 in Spain. Structural Equation Modeling was applied. The results indicate that geographical proximity between organizations promotes the intensity of relationships and facilitates the exchange of knowledge between the parent firm and the spin-off, but it cannot be said that geographical proximity impacts innovation for the parent firm. Furthermore, because the parent firm relates to its spin-off, the parent firm did not perform better than the nonparent companies with other companies. This study improves the understanding of companies that are in a business cluster, and its results have both institutional and business implications for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.