We study the effect of social connections between divisional managers and CEO on the scale and success of innovation activities in U.S. diversified conglomerates. Divisional managers who previously worked or studied with CEO file a greater number of patents during their tenure at the segment....

Suppliers socially connected to major customers with relation-specific investments have higher leverage ratios compared to unconnected suppliers. The presence of connections partially reduces supplier underleverage observed in supplier-customer relationships with relation-specific investments....

CEO's insider trading gains are affected by the position of the CEO within the hierarchy of all executives, as assessed by network centrality. CEOs with high centrality earn superior abnormal returns following their company's stock purchases, consistent with social capital advantage. Social...