Symbiotic venture and social capital: The effects of market orientation on small entrepreneur firms in China

Abstract

Adopting a perspective of social capital theory, we study the effect of market orientation on the stability of symbiotic ventures in an emerging economy. Focusing on a subset of these ventures, namely symbiotic small–large firm venture, we show that firms’ market orientation has a positive effect on trust, which is considered as a piece of important social capital. And this social capital, in turn, has a positive effect of the stability of the symbiotic ventures. Moreover, social capital also has a positive effect on the sharing of resources among the partners, which should also influences stability of symbiotic venture in the future. Finally, personal relationship, which is often an important factor for marketing success in emerging market, also has a significant and positive relationship with the stability of the venture alliances. This paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for academic researchers and practitioners.