The impact of distance on social capital in high-tech born global companies

Following the few studies that have focused on the deterministic perspective of how distance influences inter-organizational social capital (SC), this study examines how geographic, psychic, technological, and market size distances impact SC development of high-tech born global (BG) companies. This perspective presumes that both distance and social capital can change over time, and specifically that changes in social capital are caused by shifts in the role of distance. Utilizing data from Italian high-tech BG companies located in a cluster near Rome, collected over a five-year period (2016–2020), we find that different types of distance have significant, varied, and sometimes opposing impacts on SC development. Our findings address the research gap concerning SC determinants in high-tech BG companies. We contribute to the literature on SC and BG companies by combining SC and distance issues, establishing a foundation for understanding the unique challenges faced by BG companies in foreign markets.