The impact of technology managers' social capitals on sustainable competitive advantage

Along with technical, technological and methodological developments, especially with the effect of globalization, communication opportunities have increased, life styles have changed and customer demands and requirements have changed. Especially, the development of communication opportunities has enabled people living miles away to be aware of each other's consumption habits and it brings product/service value created by customers to the agenda rather than product/service itself. In today's challenging competition environment, the survival of businesses depends on their ability to sustain their competitive advantage against each other. Since the competitive advantage is the way to use the resources that will enable the companies to be separated from the competitors and continue to grow, the issue is addressed on the basis of the Resource Based Model. Since different groups of people can offer different solutions to the same problem, the effect of social capital on sustainable competitive advantage was investigated with the idea that it would be advantageous for managers to use their social capital in subjects such as defining the appropriate solution for businesses and matching them with solution partners. The main mass of the study is the technology managers of the enterprises that continue their activities in the technoparks in Ankara. Technoparks are believed to have brought advantageous position in achieving sustainable competitive advantage by providing integration with universities, industry, research centers. With the integrated working situation, aiming to produce high value-added products/services, the necessity of managing the technology in the most effective way emerges. In order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, the study seeks answers to the questions of whether the social capitals of technology managers will be taken into account, and if so, how these individuals will be associated with the projects and which aspects of their social capital will help. In data collection, as a result of intensive literature scanning, data were collected in questionnaire with 47 questions, which consisted of scales whose reliability and validity were previously tested. With the questionnaire, analysis, regression, validity and reliability analyzes were applied. Descriptive statistical analyzes, pearson correlation, regression, validity and reliability analyses were applied to the data obtained through the survey. As a result of the research analysis, it was concluded that structural, cognitive and relational social capital has a positive and significant effect on differentiation and cost leadership strategies of sustainable competitive advantage and it is not possible to mention a meaningful effect on the focus strategy. Keywords: Social Capital, Sustainable Competitive Advantage, Technology Management, Technopark, Resource Based Model