Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse social capital (SC) development oriented to innovation. The relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWSs) and total quality management (TQM) philosophy is considered in this paper as an enabling factor that allows firms to accumulate SC oriented to develop radical and incremental innovation capabilities (IIC). Design/methodology/approach This paper establishes hypotheses and a model based on partial and total mediating effects of SC to develop innovation capabilities, which are focused on previous unexplored connections between HPWS and TQM and their effects on SC. The model and hypotheses are statistically tested through a partial least squares approach to structural equations models in a multi-industry sample of Spanish companies. Findings The study results show a system of specific human resource practices connected to SC development. Moreover, SC is found to be a mediating factor in the relationship between TQM and IIC, although the effect is not significant when radical innovation capabilities (RIC) are considered in the model. Finally, it is shown that HPWS partially mediates the relationship between TQM and SC. Research limitations/implications This paper mainly contributes to the study of organizational context enablers for intellectual capital (IC) development from a knowledge-based view, especially when firms are seeking to build or improve innovation capabilities. As a managerial approach, HPWSs and TQM are shown as powerful tools to establish prolific contexts for SC development, especially when TQM is rightly supported by a HPWS. Originality/value This is a quantitative study that analyses, for the first time, predictive relationships between popular tools such as TQM and HPWSs to create an organizational context for SC development, considering a multi-industry sample of firms. Important implications are also drawn to help managers to create IC assets related to social interaction and network relationships.