Visualizing the Influence of Corporate Social Capital on IC Spin-offs

Abstract

Social capital of a large parent company is a key enabler for corporate spin-offs. However, few studies have been conducted on the interactions between high-technology industries and social capital. A number of new integrated circuit (IC) spin-offs have been established worldwide over the past decade, but the success rate remains low. Hence; the purpose of this paper was to visualize the influence relationship between the dimensions of social capital, and to investigate the importance of social capital factors upon successful IC spin-offs. Data were collected on the number of Taiwanese IC design companies in which the spin-offs must have been operating for at least 5 years and analyzed using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and analytic network process (ANP) methods. The results of DEMATEL analysis revealed that the "relational dimension", as the causal dimension, strongly influences all other dimensions, including itself. Second, the results of ANP analysis indicated that the "trust" and "identity" factors within the relational dimension were the most important. This study contributes to research on visualizing influence relationship between social capital dimensions and investigating importance of social capital factors upon successful corporate spin-offs by providing a holistic analysis, and adds knowledge about how to leverage the strengths and resources of a large parent company to increase the likelihood of success of corporate spin-offs.