This thesis investigates the relationship between corporate intellectual ability and performance. The link between intellectual capital and corporate performance has been advocated for decades, however, empirical studies failed to fully acknowledge this relationship.
For the conduct of this thesis, data has been collected for 1780 business years from companies of all industries from 5 developed countries. The contribution of this thesis has been the analysis of data from not only one country or certain industries, but the analysis of an extensive dataset, without making separations of industries, in order to obtain general results.
During the last decades, our economy was undergoing a crucial change. This change affects the production of goods and services as well as the value of the goods and services. It is the change of the balance between the resources which are exploited by companies. It is the shift from material resources to knowledge, the shift from quantity to quality - the shift which manifests itself in the change of the way value is being created.
Caused by these environmental changes, research activities in the field of intellectual capital (IC) emerged. It was advocated, that the new environment now requires proper IC management in order to succeed in the market. Since the end of the 90’s, the strategic importance and management of IC are well advocated. Several authors associated corporate performance with an efficient management of IC.
Table of Contents
1. Chapter 1: Introduction
2. Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Knowledge Economy
2.3 Market Value vs. Book Value:
2.4 Definition of Intellectual Capital
2.5 Importance of IC Measurement
2.6 IC measurement Models
2.7 Value Added Intellectual Coefficient - VAICTM
2.8 Review of Empirical Studies
2.9 Hypotheses Development
2.10 Chapter Summary
3. Chapter 3: Methodology and Methods
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research Philosophy
3.3 The Research Approach
3.4 The Research Method
3.5 Design of the Study
3.5.1 Measurement of Variables
3.5.2 Regression Models
3.6 Sampling Process
3.7 Method of Data Collection
3.8 Data Analysis
3.9 Credibility and Limitations of the Applied Methods
3.10 Ethical Considerations
3.11 Chapter Summary
4. Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Discussion of Findings
4.1 Descriptive Statistics
4.2 Correlation Analysis
4.3 Regression Analysis
4.3.1 Regression Analysis – Model 1, Model 3 & Model 5
4.3.2 Regression Analysis – Model 2, Model 4 & Model 6
5. Chapter 5: Summary and Conclusions
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This thesis examines the relationship between a company's corporate intellectual ability and its financial performance, specifically investigating whether intellectual capital efficiency impacts productivity, profitability, and market valuation across diverse industries in developed economies.
- Analysis of intellectual capital (IC) and its subdomains: human capital, structural capital, and capital employed.
- Application of the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC™) as a standardized performance indicator.
- Quantitative investigation utilizing an extensive dataset of 1780 business years from five developed countries.
- Comparative performance analysis using Pearson’s moment correlation and multiple regression models.
- Evaluation of the predictive power of IC subdomains regarding corporate success metrics.
Excerpt from the Book
2.4 DEFINITION OF INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL
After IC has been perceived as the residual between the market-value and the book value of a firm (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Stewart, 2000), the term intellectual capital needs to be defined more exactly. Marr and Schiuma (2001) (as cited in Starovic et al., 2003) define IC as the “group of knowledge assets that are attributed to an organisation and most significantly contribute to an improved competitive position […]”. Among IC researchers, IC has been split into 2 or 3 subdomains. Whilst some researchers (Bontis, 2000; Stewart, 2000) have adopted a 3-subdomain approach (human capital, structural capital, and relational capital), some others like Pulic (1998) and Edvinsson and Malone (1997) have divided IC only in the human capital and structural capital.
In fact, those who have adopted the 2 subdomain approach do not reject or even deny the 3rd subdomain and its strategic importance, they merely advocate the view that relational capital is a part of the structural capital. Although the definitions of human capital, structural capital and relational capital may vary among researchers, following definitions have been adopted for this dissertation.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1: Introduction: Outlines the shift in the global economy from material-based resources to knowledge-based value creation and states the research aim regarding IC management.
Chapter 2: Literature Review: Provides a theoretical foundation by exploring the knowledge economy, defining intellectual capital subdomains, and reviewing existing measurement models and empirical research.
Chapter 3: Methodology and Methods: Describes the positivistic research philosophy, quantitative approach, and the study design, including the use of the VAIC™ model for data analysis across 1782 business years.
Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Discussion of Findings: Presents the empirical results, including descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and multiple regression models used to test the research hypotheses.
Chapter 5: Summary and Conclusions: Synthesizes the research findings, acknowledging the mixed results regarding the link between IC and corporate performance, and provides recommendations for future research.
Keywords
Intellectual Capital, Performance, VAIC™, Knowledge, Human Capital Efficiency, Structural Capital Efficiency, Capital Employed Efficiency, Productivity, Profitability, Market Valuation, Regression Analysis, Correlation, Knowledge Economy, Intangible Assets, Corporate Finance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
This work investigates the relationship between corporate intellectual ability, specifically measured by intellectual capital efficiency, and firm performance metrics like profitability, productivity, and market value.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The research covers the knowledge economy, intellectual capital management, the application of the VAIC™ model, and the empirical testing of resource-based theories regarding firm performance.
What is the main research question of the dissertation?
The dissertation seeks to determine whether a verifiable relationship exists between the efficient exploitation of a company’s intellectual capital and its overall corporate performance.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The study employs a quantitative, longitudinal approach, using secondary financial data from public listed companies, analyzed via Pearson correlation and simple and multiple regression models.
What content is addressed in the main analysis chapters?
The main analysis evaluates financial data from companies across five developed countries, applying VAIC™ subdomains (HCE, SCE, CEE) to assess their individual impacts on dependent variables (MB, ROA, ATO).
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Intellectual Capital, VAIC™, Performance, Knowledge Economy, Human Capital, Structural Capital, and Regression Analysis.
How does the VAIC™ model calculate performance?
The VAIC™ model assesses performance by calculating the efficiency of human capital, structural capital, and capital employed in generating value-added relative to the inputs invested.
What does the study conclude about human capital efficiency?
The study finds that human capital efficiency is often negatively related to dependent variables, suggesting a contradiction with some academic literature that assumes higher personnel expenses always equate to better process outcomes.
Why were only developed countries included in the sample?
The study aims to provide insight into the importance of intellectual capital in developed economies, contrasting with previous research that predominantly focused on developing countries.
- Citar trabajo
- Ender Gülcan (Autor), 2017, Can intellectual capital affect a company's performance?, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/376516
