Software teams and their knowledge networks in large-scale software development

•Empirical findings from ten software teams from two large-scale software development projects in Ericsson and ABB demonstrated that teams receive and share their knowledge with a large number of contacts, including other team members, experts, administrative roles, and support roles.•Along with human and organizational capital, social capital and networking are also necessary for participation in large-scale software development, both for novice teams and for mature teams working on complex, unfamiliar, or interdependent tasks.•Social capital has the potential to compensate for gaps in human capital (i.e., an individual's knowledge and skills).•The team network size and networking behavior depend on the following factors: company experience, employee turnover, team culture, need for networking, and organizational support.•Along with investments in training programs, software companies should also cultivate a networking culture to strengthen their social capital and achieve better performance.