The role of social capital in international scientific collaborations: evidence from a multi-country survey

Abstract

A growing body of literature has demonstrated the importance of social capital in value creation from alliances, networks, and collaboration. This study investigates the application of a social capital perspective to large-scale international scientific collaborations (ISCs) through a survey of senior scientists from Canada, the USA, Europe, Australia and China. The findings support the relevance of social capital to ISCs and also indicate that network ties, shared goals among collaborators, and effectiveness of collaboration management are key factors for collaboration effectiveness. Further, a broad range of spillover outcomes are perceived to occur. The study contributes to research examining the role of social capital in inter-organisational relations.