Intellectual capital and innovative performance: a mediation-moderation perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shafique Ur Rehman ◽  
Hamzah Elrehail ◽  
Abdallah Alsaad ◽  
Anam Bhatti

PurposeThis study explores central questions related to the connection between intellectual capital (IC) and the innovative performance of organizations through the mediating role of management control systems (MCS) and business strategies, as well as the moderating role of innovation capabilities.Design/methodology/approachThe data was collected from the managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through a structured questionnaire. Out of 1,152 questionnaires distributed, only 415 were used for analysis purposes. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the study hypotheses.FindingsIntellectual capital significantly influences MCS, business strategies and innovative performance. Moreover, MCS, business strategies and innovative capabilities significantly improve innovative performance. MCS and business strategies significantly mediate the relationship between intellectual capital and innovative performance. Finally, innovative capabilities significantly moderate that between intellectual capital and innovative performance.Practical implicationsThe current research examines how management should use MCS, business strategies, and innovative capabilities to take maximum benefit from intellectual capital in order to improve innovative performance.Originality/valueThis is pioneering research that develops a theoretical model to incorporate intellectual capital, MCS, business strategies, innovative capabilities and innovative performance. Even though the influence of various kinds of intangible assets/resources on innovative performance has been widely examined in the literature, scant attention has been paid to the role of MCS, business strategies, and innovative capabilities in leveraging the firm's intellectual capital.

Author(s):  
Ismail Raisal ◽  
Arun Kumar Tarofder ◽  
Aboobucker Ilmudeen

PurposeDeveloping countries’ economic growth very much depend on the successful performance of entrepreneurial-oriented firms. Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a valuable conjecturer of firm success. This study mainly focuses on analyzing the effect of EO on the firm performance (FP) with the mediating role of absorptive capacity (ACAP).Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypothetical model, we collected 226 valid responses from senior managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The structural equation modeling technique is performed and research hypotheses are validated.FindingsThe findings show that the strong causal relations exit between EO, ACAP and FP. In brief, EO was found to be a predictor of ACAP, and ACAP has a strong positive impact on FP. Moreover, ACAP substantiated to be a mediator between EO and FP.Research limitations/implicationsA notable ramification of this finding is that for SMEs to enhance their performance via EO, the presence of ACAP as a mediator is essential.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can be used as a basis to consider EO to increase firms' level of ACAP and to enhance FP. As a whole, the findings offer pragmatic insights for SMEs and pertinent stakeholders.Originality/valueSo far, little is known about the interrelationship between EO, ACAP and FP. Importantly, the mediating role of ACAP between EO and FP has remained unexplored. This study fills this gap in the existing literature.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Daou ◽  
Egide Karuranga ◽  
Zhan Su

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the characteristics of intellectual capital (IC) in Mexican small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Due to the shift from traditional factors of production to knowledge-based economy, an understanding of the role of IC has become crucial for SMEs to develop a competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach – This study takes an in depth look at the three components of IC: human, organizational, and external capital. In order to do so, a quantitative study on 445 SMEs was conducted based on data collected through an online survey. A structural equation model is proposed that is a fit with the reality of Mexican SMEs. Regional differences are highlighted by means of multigroup analysis. Findings – The results suggest that the features of human and organizational capital are consistent with previous studies on SMEs in emerging economies. However, external capital shows some distinctive characteristics unique to Mexican context. Practical implications – Implications for managers and policymakers are discussed, whereby an adaptation of programs and policies are required to fit the Mexican context at the national and regional levels. Originality/value – To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first study that observes the components of IC in Mexican SMEs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zulkaif Ahmed Saqib ◽  
Qingyu Zhang

PurposeSustainability failures have increased the pressure for manufacturing firms to come up with innovative solutions to resolve the sustainable matters. Drawing on the resource-based theory, the purpose of this study is to examine how supply chain visibility moderates the effects of sustainable practices on sustainable performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data employed in the current work were collected from 355 small and medium manufacturing firms in Pakistan using a structured questionnaire. The structural equation modelling was applied to the collected data with AMOSS-23 and SPSS-25 packageFindingsThe results show that sustainable practices (for manufacturing, procurement and distribution) significantly influence the firm's sustainability performance, and this relationship is moderated by supply chain visibility.Originality/valueSustainable practices are necessary for small and medium enterprises to achieve sustainable performance, but the previously under-explored moderating effect of supply chain visibility generally indicates that sharing information for learning, sensing and co-ordinating activities plays an intensifying effect.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Yacine Haddoud ◽  
Paul Jones ◽  
Robert Newbery

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the network promotion role of export promotion programmes in driving small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) export performance. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a dual institutional and network-based approaches to internationalisation, the study tests an integrative model that explores the mediating role of SMEs’ relationships in the link between government export promotion programmes (both informational and experiential forms) and export performance. The model was tested using a sample of 160 UK small and medium exporter firms. The data were analysed through a structural equation modelling technique. Findings The study finds that whilst both informational and experiential export promotion programmes improved all forms of SMEs’ relationships, only experiential forms had an indirect effect on export performance. Further, only relationships with foreign buyers had a positive impact on export performance. Research limitations/implications The results of this research provide directions for export promotion organisations in targeting their network support provision and for SMEs in utilising such a support. The study calls for similar research in different contexts to validate the proposed model. Originality/value This study brings novel findings to the extant literature by conceptualising and validating the importance of the “network promotion” element of export promotion programmes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mírian Oliveira ◽  
Carla Curado ◽  
Andrea Raymundo Balle ◽  
Aino Kianto

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relations among knowledge sharing (KS), intellectual capital (IC), absorptive capacity (AC), innovation (IN) and organizational performance (OP).Design/methodology/approachThis paper empirically tests a model that uses structural equation modeling (SEM) based on a partial least squares (PLS). The sample is composed of 351 Brazilian and 135 Portuguese enterprises. They are micro, small and medium enterprises.FindingsThe results show that: the relation between KS and AC is partially mediated by IC; the relation between IC and IN is partially mediated by AC and the relation between KS and IN is mediated by AC and IC or both. There are relations among KS, IC, AC, IN and OP.Research limitations/implicationsThe study does not control for industry effects and technological differences among the firms.Practical implicationsThe use of KS mitigates the loss of knowledge associated to employees' retirement or job changes. The knowledge appropriation by the organization (turning human capital (HC) into structural capital (SC)), the knowledge achieved from connections (relational capital, RC) and the trust embedded in an organization's relation with employees are important for AC and IN. Moreover, KS can positively influence all elements of IC. OP depends directly on IN and indirectly on the others constructs.Originality/valueThis study is relevant because it explores the relations among KS, IC, AC, IN and OP in one model. Moreover, it focuses on small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) with data from two countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Amoako ◽  
Zhang Huai Sheng ◽  
Courage Simon Kofi Dogbe ◽  
Wisdom Wise Kwabla Pomegbe

PurposeThe paper investigates the mediation role of external integration in the relationship between internal integration and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance. Information and communication technology (ICT) was used to moderate the relationship between internal and external, and external integration and SMEs performance.Design/methodology/approachCross sectional method was used to distribute questionnaires to owners of SMEs in Abossey Okai business enclave to assess the various dimensions in the study. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the relationship among the dimensions, based on 163 validated questionnaires. Analysis of Moment Structures (Amos) and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used in analyzing the data.FindingsThe results indicate that, external integration mediated the relationship between internal integration and SMEs performance. In addition, ICT had positive moderating effect in the relationship between internal and external integration, and external integration and SMEs performance.Practical implicationsPractically, this research informs owners and managers of SMEs to appreciate the importance of developing internal structures of a firm and further linking their operations with external partners. Additionally, findings will aid managers’ and owners’ leverage on ICT capabilities to enhance performance in their operations.Originality/valueEngaging external integration to mediate the relationship between internal integration and SMEs performance and extending the relationship to include moderating role of ICT in both relationship that is internal and external integration on one side, and external and firm performance, the current study contributes to supply chain integration (SCI) and ICT available literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Lu ◽  
Jinliang Chen ◽  
Hua Song ◽  
Xiangyu Zhou

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how cloud computing assimilation reduces supply chain financing (SCF) risks of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study also investigated the mediating roles of internal and external supply chain integration between cloud computing assimilation and the SCF risks of SMEs, as well as the moderating role of environmental competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from surveys of SMEs located in China. Multiple regression analysis was used to validate the proposed theoretical model and research hypotheses. Findings The findings show that cloud computing assimilation could reduce the SCF risks of SMEs directly. The results also indicate that both internal and external supply chain integration mediate the relationship between cloud computing assimilation and SCF risks. Furthermore, environmental competitiveness inhibits the effects of cloud computing assimilation on SCF risks. Originality/value To our best knowledge, this is the preliminary study to explore the role of cloud computing assimilation in reducing the SCF risks of SMEs. Also, this study attempted to investigate the process by which cloud computing assimilation affects the SCF risks of SMEs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinqiang Wang ◽  
Yaobin Lu ◽  
Si Fan ◽  
Peng Hu ◽  
Bin Wang

PurposeThe purpose of the research is to explore how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in central China achieve intelligent transformation through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Because of unequal resource allocation, constraints on the intelligent transformation of SMEs in central China are different from those in economically and technologically well-developed coastal provinces. Hence, the authors focus on SMEs in central China to identify drivers of and barriers to intelligent transformation.Design/methodology/approachThe interview data were collected from 66 SMEs across 20 industries in central China. To verify the validity of the data collection method, the authors used two methods to control for retrospective bias: multi-level informants and enterprises' AI project application materials (Wei and Clegg, 2020). The final data were validated without conflicts. Next, the authors cautiously followed a two-step approach recommended by Venkatesh et al. (2010) and used NVivo 11.0 to analyze the collected text data.FindingsSMEs in central China are enthusiastic about intelligent transformation while facing both internal and external pressures. SMEs need to pay attention to both internal (enterprise development needs, implementation cost, human resources and top management involvement) and external factors (external market pressure, convenience of AI technology and policy support) and their different impacts on intelligent transformation. However, constrained by limited resources, SMEs in central China have been forced to take a step-by-step intelligent transformation strategy based on their actual needs with the technological flexibility method in the short term.Originality/valueConsidering the large number of SMEs and their importance in promoting China's economic development and job creation (SME Bureau of MIIT, 2020), more research on SMEs with limited resources is needed. In the study, the authors confirmed that enterprises should handle “social responsibility” carefully because over-emphasizing it will hinder intelligent transformation. However, firms should pay attention to the role of executives in promoting intelligent transformation and make full use of policy support to access more resources.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shampy Kamboj ◽  
Shruti Rana

PurposeThe main objective of this paper is to study the role of supply chain performance (SCP) as a mediator between big data-driven supply chain (BDDSC) and firm sustainable performance. In addition, the role of firm age as a moderator between BDDSC and SCP as well as between SCP and firm sustainable performance has also been explored.Design/methodology/approachThe 200 managers of medium or senior level positions in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) located at Delhi-NCR have been contacted. Further, collected data have been confirmed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In this paper, structure equation modeling (SEM) has been employed to empirically check the proposed hypotheses and their relationships.FindingsThe findings confirmed that SCP mediates the link between BDDSC and firm sustainable performance. Additionally, firm age moderates the association between BDDSC and SCP as well as between SCP and firm sustainable performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe role of SCP and firm age between BDDSC and sustainable performance have been examined in the context of MSMEs in Delhi-NCR and thereby limit the generalization of results to other industries and country contexts.Originality/valueThe present study adds to the existing literature via recognizing the blackbox using SCP and firm age to comprehend BDDSC and firm sustainable performance relationship.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muneer Abbad ◽  
Ibrahim Hussien Musa Magboul ◽  
Kholoud AlQeisi

Purpose In response to a turbulent industrial environment, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), organizations have widely adopted e-business to improve their processes. This study aims to propose a model that encapsulates the determinants and outcomes of e-business adoption. Design/methodology/approach The determinants and outcomes of e-business adoption were tested using data gathered from 282 managers and analysed using structural equation modelling techniques. Findings The results indicated that owner support, perceived ease of use and government support were important determinants that influence e-business adoption. Attitude, competitive pressureand relative advantage were not significant. Regarding outcomes, e-business adoption had a major impact on SME functioning and operational progress; however, it had no influence on competitive advantage. Originality/value By ascertaining the determinants and outcomes of e-business adoption, the findings provide e-business practitioners and managers with guidelines that can encourage more efficient and effective e-business adoption within their organizations. The results also provide a basis for more precise e-business studies to be conducted in developing countries.


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