Social capital in project-based organizations: Its role, structure, and impact on project performance

The aim of this study is to provide evidence about the role of social capital within project-based organizations. Our assumption is that the social capital of project units increases knowledge integration, producing in turn high levels of performance at the project level. We collected primary data via sociometric questionnaires on 54 projects in the construction field. The analysis has been conducted to study the distinctive structural configuration of projects' social capital, among which we emphasize the role of network cohesion and network range. Our results provide evidence that levels of project performance are significantly associated with the particular structure of projects' social capital.

Research highlights
► We introduce the concept of Project Social Capital.
► Primary data have been collected to study the structural configuration of project social capital.
► Project performance has an inverted U shaped relationship with the level of cohesion and range.
► It is at a moderate level of cohesion and range that project performance is maximized.