How entrepreneurs’ cognitive styles influence entrepreneurial teams’ social capital in an emerging economy

Social capital is particularly crucial for entrepreneurship in the emerging economy. While many studies have sought to figure out the role of social capital in new ventures, little is known about its antecedents. Drawing on social capital theory and upper echelons theory, this study aims to extend the social capital literature by attempting to analyze the role of cognition in the acquisition of social capital. We examined the influence of entrepreneurs’ cognitive styles on entrepreneurial teams’ social capital, investigated the mediating role of collaborative network orientation on the relationships between cognitive styles and social capital, and studied the moderating effects of gender roles on strengthening the links between cognitive styles and collaborative network orientation. Using a three-wave survey of 351 entrepreneurs within 128 entrepreneurial teams in China, we found that both entrepreneurs’ analytic style and intuitive style were positively related to entrepreneurial teams’ social capital; collaborative network orientation mediated these relations; masculinity moderated the impact of analytic style on collaborative network orientation, and femininity moderated the effect of intuitive style on collaborative network orientation. Overall, our findings help to improve the understanding of how entrepreneurial teams acquire social capital and offer practical implications for the survival and development of new ventures in the emerging economy.