Intellectual capital factors at work in Dominican firms: understanding their influence

Abstract

From an empirical-based perspective, this paper explores the influence of intellectual capital factors on the performance of firms in the Dominican Republic. A Likert scale from one to seven was used to capture firms’ sensitivity to human, structural and relational capital factors. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out using the method of principal components with VARIMAX rotation. The final factorial scores were standardized to execute the regression analysis. Structural capital factors appear to be the dominant intellectual capital components within the Dominican context. Human capital factors play a vital role in performance in manufacturing and in-services firms, and relational capital factors are significant in determining their performance. This research contributes to the regional literature on intellectual capital studies in Latin America and the Caribbean. It puts forward some specific points related to the role of intellectual capital factors in explaining firms’ performance in small open economies such as that of the Dominican Republic.

The Effect of Intellectual Capital on Firm Performance: A State of the Art

“…Human capital is characterized as the intellectual capacity inherent in individuals within an organization. Indicators of human capital encompass aspects like training, both formal and non-formal education, specialized workers, tenure of employees, human resource policies, risk-taking initiatives, employee engagement and creativity, turnover rates, skill sets of organizational members, their experience, innovation capabilities, loyalty, and motivation for growth (Aljuboori et al, 2022;Andreeva & Garanina, 2016Asiaei & Jusoh, 2015;Beltramino et al, 2022;Gómez-Valenzuela, 2022;Hu & Lee, 2022;Laallam et al, 2022). These facets, intrinsically linked to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of employees, can potentially enhance firm performance through the optimization of human capital.…”

“…Structural Capital Relational Capital and communication technology, systematic procedures, data management, intellectual property rights, research and development initiatives, management best practices, and the specialized knowledge repositories of the organization (Andreeva & Garanina, 2016Asiaei & Jusoh, 2015;Gómez-Valenzuela, 2022).…”

“…Relational capital refers to the knowledge inherent in an organization's relationships with external entities. This includes associations with clients, suppliers, governmental and non-governmental bodies, the organization's public image, partnerships, distribution channels, customers, and other pertinent stakeholders (Aljuboori et al, 2022;Andreeva & Garanina, 2016;Asiaei & Jusoh, 2015;Gómez-Valenzuela, 2022).…”

Relationship Between Strategic Innovation Orientation and Organizational Performance: The Mediating Role of Intellectual Capital

“…En este sentido, el capital intelectual (CI), como recurso intangible (Nawaz y Haniffa, 2017), representa el conjunto de conocimientos, habilidades, experiencia, información y relaciones que poseen los individuos dentro de la organización (Dang y Wang, 2022;Gómez-Valenzuela, 2022;Nazir et al, 2021). El CI es una fuente de diferenciación competitiva que impulsa la innovación y la adaptación al cambio, mejorando la eficacia y la productividad (Ekaningrum, 2021;Handoyo et al, 2023;Hussein et al, 2023), a su vez, ofrece fundamentos sólidos para gestionar los activos intangibles de la organización y posicionarla en el mercado (Rehman et al, 2023;Bansal et al, 2023).…”

Does intellectual capital affect firm performance through financial policy?

“…Intellectual capital can be viewed as knowledge in the formation, intellectual property and experience that can be used to create wealth [10], [11]. [12] proves that intellectual capital has a significant influence on firm performance.…”