How relational capital mediates the effect of corporate reputation on competitive advantage: Evidence from Taiwan high-tech industry

Article history: Received 6 June 2012 Received in revised form 18 March 2013 Accepted 21 June 2013 Available online 11 July 2013 Although the effects of corporate reputation on competitive advantage are well documented, the mechanisms that explain those effects remain unclear. We develop and test a theoretical model to investigate how relational capital mediates the impact of corporate reputation on competitive advantage. The hypotheses were tested using a sample of Taiwanese high-tech firms during the period of 2002–2011. Results from hierarchical regression analyses support the contention that corporate reputation positively affects relational capital, which then positively affects competitive advantage. But surprisingly, we do not find support for the direct effect of corporate reputation on competitive advantage, and we instead find that relational capital is a complete mediator. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.