Social capital impact on mass customization capability and innovation capabilities: the mediating role of absorptive capacity

The main purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the influence of social capital (SC) on mass customization capability (MCC) and innovation capabilities (ICs) (products, processes, services and organizational) through absorptive capacity (ACAP) (acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation).

Data were collected from 201 managers of 67 Jordanian manufacture organizations. Statistical techniques used included confirmatory factor analysis to examine validity of the measurement model, and structural equation modeling using partial least squares to test the hypotheses.

The results of the analysis show that ACAP mediates the relationships between SC and MCC and between SC and ICs. Furthermore, the results show that SC has a positive, significant influence on ACAP and ACAP has a positive, significant impact on both MCC and ICs.

Insights from this study can help manufacture managers to better understand the relationships among SC, ACAP, MCC and ICs in the context of Jordan’s economic development, as well as providing some useful guidance for the manufacturing sector’s customization and innovation activities.

This study develops and empirically tests a conceptual framework that relates ACAP, the development of MCC and ICs with the presence of SC as an antecedent of ACAP; hence, to the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first study to test the mediating role of ACAP between SC and MCC and between SC and ICs.