Internal Social Capital and Product Innovation of Food Firms

Abstract

Internal social capital helps create a friendly work environment through trust and mutual understanding among employees (Yang et al., 2011). Besides, internal social capital fosters strong internal cohesion (Tsai, 2000) that facilitates cooperation between employees and different departments within the enterprise (Adler and Kwon, 2002). This study was conducted with the aim of assessing the influence of internal social capital on the product innovation of plastic and food firms in Hanoi and neighboring provinces through survey results. The survey subjects are employees of food firms in Hanoi and neighboring provinces. We use both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Quantitative research methods were carried out to analyze the reliability of the scales through the Cronbach alpha coefficient, EFA analysis, and correlation analysis. Research results show that internal social capital has a positive effect on the product innovation of plastic and food firms in Hanoi and neighboring provinces. Based on this result, the study proposes some recommendations for food firms and employees.