Social capital, capabilities, and entrepreneurial strategies: a study of Taiwanese high-tech new ventures

This paper examines the effects of social capital, entrepreneurs' capabilities and entrepreneurial strategies on the performance of technology-based new ventures. Using concepts derived from the entrepreneurship and strategy management literatures, we identify three categories of factors and develop corresponding hypotheses. Using a sample of 125 Taiwanese high-tech new ventures to test these hypotheses, we find that entrepreneurs' management experience may not be an advantage for high-tech new ventures. The six Stevenson entrepreneurial strategies can have different effects on the performance of new ventures, whereas social capital actually moderates the effects of entrepreneurial strategies and resources on the performance. High-tech entrepreneurship is a complex phenomenon with a wide range of factors, including societal contexts, entrepreneurial strategies and entrepreneurs' capabilities; and these factors interact with each other. There is no single route to entrepreneurial success or failure: successful entrepreneurs are those who can adjust their entrepreneurial strategies according to their social capital and capabilities.