The Role of Social Capital in the Innovation Activity of Hungarian High-Growth Firms

Our article is a study on how the social capital profile of high-growth firms (widely regarded as fundamental to economic growth) and their innovation activity is related in contemporary Hungary. The social capital profile of “gazelles” is drawn along the lines of their diverse investment resources. We interpret the informal and formal investor connections of gazelles as manifestations of their bonding, bridging and linking social capital and investigate the correlations with innovation activities. Our results reveal a marked social capital profile for non-innovative Hungarian gazelles: all three types of social capital is available for them only to a minimal extent. The most innovative Hungarian gazelles possess a unique social capital profile: their dominant social capital is not bridging social capital, as typically found in the innovation literature, but linking social capital. Another group of fairly innovative Hungarian gazelles rely predominantly on bonding social capital.