دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی سرمایه اجتماعی، اشتراک دانش و نوآوری از شرکت های کوچک و متوسط در گردشگری - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to identify the structural relationship among social capital, knowledge sharing, innovation and performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a tourism cluster. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 199 valid questionnaires are collected from SMEs in the Bomun tourism cluster in South Korea. A structural equation modeling approach is used to test the research hypotheses. Findings – The findings suggest that social capital constructs, including network density of structural capital, relational capital and cognitive capital, all positively influence knowledge sharing among SMEs in the cluster. This implies that creating social capital is critical to enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs. This study confirms that knowledge sharing positively affects SME performance through innovation. Research limitations/implications – This study suggests that social capital, consisting of structural, cognitive and relational capital, facilitates increased knowledge sharing and innovation in a tourism cluster, which in turn enhances SME business performance. Practical/implications – This study suggests that tourism cluster policies should focus on how to create a friendly operational climate to build social capital and support SME innovation. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on social capital and innovation as well as the discourse on tourism clusters by addressing knowledge sharing among SMEs in a tourism cluster. It also expands the knowledge sharing and innovation literature by focusing on inter-organizational social networking among SMEs.

Conclusions

This study focuses on two aspects of tourism clusters: first, tourism clusters made up of SMEs must account for small-scale characteristics of diverse business sectors providing a bundle of tourism products and services; second, geographical proximity alone is insufficient to guarantee success of the cluster, so facilitators of SME innovation and increased performance must be identified. This study analyzed these issues focusing on SMEs in the Bomun tourism cluster in South Korea and examining the structural relationship among social capital, knowledge sharing, innovation and performance. The results reveal that network density, relational social capital and cognitive social capital have significant positive effects on knowledge sharing, with cognitive social capital having the greatest effect on knowledge sharing; and that knowledge sharing among SMEs has a significant and positive effect on performance through innovation.