The effectiveness of social capital as an enabler of knowledge creation in construction organizations

Abstract

Social capital has increasingly been seen as a valuable organizational resource which enables to develop a firm's knowledge base. It comprises both the network of personal relationships and the knowledge resources that may be mobilized through that network. Social capital offers a valuable perspective for knowledge creation in construction organizations since lesser technical nature of knowledge practices in construction. Yet, the existence of enabling role of social capital in knowledge creation in construction context is relatively unexplored. Thus, the research problem is articulated for this study as: whether social capital acts as an effective enabler of knowledge creation in construction organizations in Sri Lanka? Survey research methodology was used to investigate the research problem through hypotheses. Structured questionnaire was the data collection technique of this study. Sample of 44 managerial staff members related to field of construction was obtained across four large contracting organizations among Cl contractors in Sri Lankan construction industry. The phenomenon of 'social capital as an effective enabler of knowledge creation' was examined through self-administered questionnaire. Regression analysis technique was used to analyze the data. The empirical findings revealed that social capital which is manifested through structural, relational and cognitive dimensions has significant and positive influence over knowledge creation conditions of accessibility, anticipation of value, motivation and combination capability, which in turn, influences knowledge creation process in construction organizations. Thus, ability of social capital to act as an effective enabler of knowledge creation in construction organizations is confirmed. In particular, relational dimension of social capital is the strongest predictor of knowledge creation comparatively. This empirical revelation of social capital as an effective enabler of knowledge creation helps to make more credible decisions to support and develop social capital within construction organizations, to improve innovative potential and competitive advantage. Careful attention should be paid to nurture social capital especially, relational dimension within construction organizations. Further, strong empirical support is found for the theoretical phenomenon of 'social capital as an important vehicle and enabler of knowledge creation in organizations’ particularly, in construction context.