The Impact of Social Capital on the Start-Ups’ Performance Growth

This paper analyzes the development of strong and weak ties of social capital between a start-up and its main customers and its impact on the growth of the start-up’s economic and innovative task performance outcomes. Results confirm that there are different configurations of social capital able to influence the start-up’s performance growth during its life cycle, which are contingent on the selected measures of task performance outcomes. Our findings can offer some interesting reflections in the field of social capital, entrepreneurship, and performance research, raising critical strategic implications for start-ups in terms of opportunities, resources, and governance.