Bridging capital and performance in clustered firms: The heterogeneous effect of knowledge strategy

Abstract This study addresses the debate on the advantages and disadvantages of bridging capital for organizational performance in cultural tourism clusters, while also analyzing the moderating role of knowledge strategies -exploration and exploitation. The results of the empirical study show an inverted U-shaped relationship between bridging capital and both financial and non-financial organizational performance. Additionally, the findings reveal a divergent role for knowledge strategies. Exploration strategy reduces, and even reverses, the negative effect of a high level of bridging capital, especially on financial performance. However, exploitation strategy increases this negative effect of a high level of bridging capital. Clustered firms should seek a balance between advantages and disadvantages to determine the most appropriate level of bridging capital. In addition, when there is a high level of bridging capital, they should implement a knowledge exploration strategy rather than a knowledge exploitation strategy.