창업자의 사회적 역량과 사회적 자본이 투자유치 시도방식에 미치는 영향

Based on social capital theory, this study investigated the influence of the start-up founder’s social competence on the start-up’s access to funding sources and performance through the mediating role of the type of social network. This study aimed to examine two types of social networks empirically (i.e., personal networks and business networks) as social capital in analyzing the effect of the founder’s social competence and social capital on the method of accessing funding sources. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 252 South Korean start-up founders whose businesses are based in South Korea. Path analysis and mediation effect analysis were performed by structural equation modeling(SEM) using STATA 16.1. This study examined the full mediating effect of the founder’s social competence on his/her personal and business networks, respectively, and how the effect leads to different methods to approach funding sources. This is the first study in South Korea to analyze empirically how social competence has contrasting effects on personal and business networks as well as how each type of network varies in its influence on the method founders use to attract investment. This study is also significant in that it proposed a new methodology by utilizing the position generator as the measure of personal and business networks to analyze social networks in detail. The analyses of 252 survey data collected over a period of six months will be a valuable resource that may provide researchers, founders, investors, and other stakeholders in the start-up ecosystem with meaningful implications.