The impact of strategic focus on relational capital: A comparative study of family and non-family firms

The positive impact of social capital on a variety of outcomes is well documented. The relational aspect of social capital, however, is relatively underexplored, especially with respect to its strategic antecedents. In this paper, we contribute to the family firm and general strategy literature by studying three strategic approaches – market, entrepreneurship and learning orientation – and their impact on relational capital. In consideration of the idiosyncrasies of family firms that shape their strategic foci and potential advantages that such businesses have in leveraging strategies to competitive advantages, we investigate the differences in the strength of these effects between family and non-family businesses. The hypothesized relationships are tested using regression analysis on a sample of 360 family and non-family firms in Mexico.