Financial performance and digital relational capital: Evidence from Russian SMEs

Sofiia Paklina, Petr Parshakov, Evgeniya Shenkman and Grigorii Teplykh
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Sofiia Paklina: HSE University, Perm, Russia
Petr Parshakov: HSE University, Perm, Russia
Evgeniya Shenkman: HSE University, Perm, Russia
Grigorii Teplykh: HSE University, Perm, Russia

Applied Econometrics, 2026, vol. 82, 5-25

Abstract: Digital relational capital has become an increasingly important factor for the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in emerging markets undergoing rapid digitalization. Using a large administrative dataset covering 306577 Russian SMEs, this study examines the relationship between firms’ digital relational capital and financial performance. Digital relational capital is proxied by the presence of an official corporate page on the VK social networking platform and the number of followers. The results indicate that firms with an official VK presence exhibit significantly higher labor productivity and profitability compared to observationally similar firms without such presence. These associations are especially pronounced for SMEs operating in B2B industries, while the effects are substantially weaker for B2C firms. In contrast, the number of followers on VK does not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship with either productivity or profitability. Overall, the study suggests that formal digital presence in a leading social networking platform is more closely related to SME performance than audience size, emphasizing the importance of structured digital engagement rather than scale of social media popularity.

Keywords: digital relational capital; SME; B2B; B2C; financial performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L25 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:apltrx:022707

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