The effects of customer relationships and social capital on firm performance: A Chinese business illustration

The authors use the resource-based view of the firm to frame the direct, relative, and synergistic effects of three firm relational resources (i.e., customer relationships, business-partner social capital, and governing-agency social capital) on firm performance (strategic and financial) in a sample of 262 businesses that operate in metropolitan Chinese cities. Although the findings indicate that all three relational resources enhance performance, they also indicate that customer relationships are the primary drivers of strategic and financial performance and that business partnerships and governing-agency social capital have a synergistic influence. In addition, the results indicate that the influences of these resources are moderated by domestic or international firm ownership. The authors discuss the implications for academics and practitioners.