More ties the merrier? Different social ties and firm innovation performance

Inter-organizational relationships, viewed as a form of social tie, have been examined as a key source of firm innovation. While scholars have emphasized the importance of social ties, much less is known about the joint relationships among different types of ties. In this study, we first examine the individual effects of business, university, and government ties on firm innovation performance, and then, we analyze the joint effects of ties. We argue that in addition to direct impacts, government ties strengthen the positive effects of business and university ties on innovation. Our arguments draw empirical evidence from a recent sample of Chinese firms. Our research contributes to the literature by providing an in-depth understanding of the implications of the innovation of social ties.