HPWS, technology and flexibility in the Spanish manufacturing industry: the moderating role of social capital

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze a specific pattern of social capital and its pivotal role in the HPWS utilization. The paper uses Spanish cross-sectional data from the manufacturing industry to examine the moderating effects of external social capital derived from buyer-supplier relationships on HPWS, technology and flexibility. We propose a model of HPWS in which external social capital not only favours the use of HPWS but also moderates the incidence of other common facilitators such as technology and flexibility. Firms yielding external social capital use HPWS more intensely and that the effect of technology constituents on HPWS utilization is contingent to social capital accumulation. The findings are consistent with existing HR literature on the subject but broaden its perspective by analyzing a specific pattern of social capital and its pivotal role in the HPWS utilization process.