Purpose-The paper aims to refine conceptual treatment of the social facet in business relationships and reinforce its significance in the IMP research tradition by integrating the concept of social capital in its original interpretation into the ARA model. Design/methodology/approach-The paper begins by indicating some typical conceptual challenges associated with application of social capital in IMP. This is followed by a conceptual clarification that explores the origin and the essence of social capital in economic sociology. Finally, the paper proposes integrating social capital in its original interpretation into IMP's ARA model and presents four propositions on how social capital is created in interaction between business actors. Research limitations/implications-The paper is expected to aid IMP researchers in empirical contexts where the social component in business relationships is particularly prominent. As such, the novel approach presented could be used to further understand how social exchange processes are related to relationship governance, relationship initiation and development. Findings-The paper shows how bridging Bourdieu's theory of social capital with the IMP approach may solve the identified conceptual challenges. This paper's main contribution is a cyclical model depicting how social capital is created in business networks. It is integrated into the ARA model and designed specifically for studying the social facet of business relationships. Originality/value-The proposed model shows how social capital is generated through the dynamic interplay in the social facets of actor, activity and resource dimensions, emphasising its creation dynamics. The model integrates insights from the classic works in economic sociology to strengthen the social side of IMP's socioeconomic interface and is intended to be used as a tool for empirical application.

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Purpose This paper aims to explore corrupt exchange as a type of socioeconomic interaction in private–public relationships and its effects on material flow in connected private-private relationships. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a case study of a private–public network of an import firm in Russia. It focusses on corrupt exchange in routine interactions between the firm’s managers and officials in three regulatory authorities. Findings The study reveals how different types of corrupt exchange between firm managers, officials and intermediaries serve as a problem-solving tool that facilitates material flow through bureaucratic gates. Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to the industrial marketing and purchasing research by showing how the social capital concept is useful for explicating mechanisms of socioeconomic interaction in business networks and how the interaction context conditions actors’ roles and interdependencies. Practical implications The paper raises practitioners’ awareness of corrupt exchange in business networks and enables them to anticipate and manage upcoming challenges in bureaucratic procedures. Social implications The study shows how networks’ non-transparent and manipulative tendencies may provide favourable conditions for corruption in the business landscape. Originality/value The study provides a unique empirical insight into the socioeconomic mechanisms of corrupt exchange in business networks. It contributes theoretically by conceptualising corrupt officials as taking on the role of quasi-business actors in the personal possession of administrative authority as a resource and by using a novel conceptualisation of social capital to study private–public interaction in business networks.

This exploratory case study aims to investigate the significance of the social dimension in the development of business relationships and consider its implications for value creation in industrial business networks. The findings demonstrate how social capital is developed through established social connections and continued social practices and indicate its instrumental role in accessing two types of scarce resources in a turbulent business context: reliable information and affordable financing. Keywords social capital | business relationship | business network | value creation | Russia10. Towards understanding the role of social capital for value creation in business relationships: The case of Russia 10. Towards understanding the role of social capital for value creation in business relationships: The case of Russia