Unlike individual social capital, however, organizational social capital is
classified into two types according to the social relationship type to which it
belongs . Internal social capital exists among
individuals within an organization. This type indicates characteristics of social
relationships among colleagues, which reflect their shared norms, identity, trust,
and cooperation. External social capital exists between an organization and other
organizations. Using the interorganizational relationship as a network structure,
several researchers have examined the flow of knowledge and resources .
In this study we emphasized the importance of
both types of organizational social capital in creating organizational knowledge
assets. We suggested that internal social capital plays a key role in activating
interaction among organizational members and that external social capital
triggers interaction with parties outside the organization. Nonaka and von Krogh
(2009) asserted that organizational knowledge creation is sensitive to the social
context and that it requires interaction among individuals not only in the same
social context but also in different social contexts. In other words, organizational
social capital lubricates combination and exchange mechanisms within and
outside the organization .