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Can China’s family firms create intellectual capital?

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  • Emma Su
  • Michael Carney

Abstract

Intellectual capital is a firm’s knowledge and knowing capability that enriches and aggregates the firm’s human capital. In so doing, it increases a firm’s capacity for innovation and strategic differentiation. Since intellectual capital is a function of the firm’s social capital, and because China’s family firms tend to exhibit a unique social capital profile, we develop three propositions about the relationship between social capital, capacity for knowledge transfer, and intellectual capital formation. These propositions arise from our cross-case study methodology, based on findings from case studies of intellectual capital formation in fifteen family firms, located in the city of Wenzhou, China. Consistent with the resource-based view of the firm, we show that the processes involved in creating intellectual capital are both socially complex and causally ambiguous, and are distributed heterogeneously among China’s growing population of family firms. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

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  • Emma Su & Michael Carney, 2013. "Can China’s family firms create intellectual capital?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 657-675, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:asiapa:v:30:y:2013:i:3:p:657-675
    DOI: 10.1007/s10490-012-9302-z
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    3. Mike W. Peng & Wei Sun & Cristina Vlas & Alessandro Minichilli & Guido Corbetta, 2018. "An Institution-Based View of Large Family Firms: A Recap and Overview," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(2), pages 187-205, March.
    4. Yuan Lu & Kevin Au & Mike Peng & Erming Xu, 2013. "Strategic management in private and family businesses," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 633-639, September.
    5. Smita Prashant Chattopadhyay & Madhuchhanda Das Aundhe, 2021. "Vendor boundary spanning in Indian Information Technology (IT) companies," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 1139-1177, September.
    6. Hongjuan Zhang & Rong Han & Liang Wang & Runhui Lin, 2021. "Social capital in China: a systematic literature review," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(1), pages 32-77, February.
    7. Shihui Chen & Hanqing Chevy Fang & Niall G. MacKenzie & Sara Carter & Ling Chen & Bingde Wu, 2018. "Female leadership in contemporary Chinese family firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 181-211, March.
    8. Hongjuan Zhang & Rong Han & Liang Wang & Runhui Lin, 0. "Social capital in China: a systematic literature review," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-46.
    9. Gianluca Ginesti & Mario Ossorio, 2021. "The influence of family-related factors on intellectual capital performance in family businesses," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(2), pages 535-560, June.

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