Audit committee characteristics: an empirical investigation of the contribution to intellectual capital efficiency

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amina Buallay

Purpose In a knowledge economy, it is generally agreed that audit committees play a significant role in supporting the overall firm’s knowledge, particularly enhancing the reporting process. In this respect, this paper aims to examine the effect of audit committee characteristics on intellectual capital efficiency. Design/methodology/approach This study examined 59 banks for five years (2011-2015), obtaining 295 observations. The study’s independent variable is audit committee characteristics. The dependent variable is intellectual capital components (Human: human capital efficiency [HCE]; Structural: structural capital efficiency [SCE]; Relational: relational capital efficiency [RCE]; and Physical/Financial: capital employed efficiency [CEE]). In addition, the study used four bank-specific control variables. Findings The findings deduced from the empirical results demonstrate that there is a significant positive impact of audit committee characteristics on intellectual capital. Moreover, the relationship between audit committee and intellectual capital components (HCE, SCE, RCE and CEE) also has a significant positive relationship if measured individually. Originality/value The study provides insights about the relationship between audit committee characteristics and the improvement in intellectual capital efficiency, which might be used by firms to re-arrange the roles within audit committee, to reassign internal priorities and to escalate position in their environment.

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 384-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amina Buallay ◽  
Allam Hamdan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of firm size on the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and intellectual capital (IC) efficiency. Design/methodology/approach The methodology was a pooled data for three years (2012-2014) for 171 listed firms, resulting in 489 observations. Findings The findings revealed that the inclusion of firm size as a moderating variable has influenced positively only the relationship between CG principles and capital employed efficiency (CEE). Further, the finding showed that the two IC components namely, human capital efficiency and structural capital efficiency, tend to be higher with firms that high level of CG adoption. However, CEE tends to be higher with firms that have lower level of CG adoption. Other finding shows that CG index was significant with the three IC components. Originality/value Such information will help the stakeholders, investors, decision-makers, regulators, policymakers and scholars to improve their knowledge about IC. Furthermore, it will be useful for firms to place their priorities regarding the internal system and financial plans for effective and efficient use of CG and IC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1125-1152
Author(s):  
Tamanna Dalwai ◽  
Syeeda Shafiya Mohammadi

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the relationship between intellectual capital and corporate governance of Oman's financial sector companies. Intellectual capital has been found to successfully contribute to the economic wealth creation of firms in germane literature. Unfortunately, financial statements do not necessarily capture and reflect the contributions of intellectual capital, thereby leading to an information asymmetry between companies and users of financial statements. The research also investigates the relationship between corporate governance and intellectual capital efficiency across various financial subsectors.Design/methodology/approachData are collected from annual reports available on Muscat Securities Market for 31 listed financial sector companies for the period 2012 to 2016 and analyzed using a multiple regression model. Intellectual capital is measured using Pulic's efficiency measure of value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC). Corporate governance individual components such as board characteristics, audit committee characteristics and ownership structure are presented as independent variables.FindingsThe findings suggest that board size and frequency of audit committee meetings have a significant association with the intellectual capital efficiency of Oman's financial sector. VAIC and human capital efficiency of banks are also significantly influenced by most of the corporate governance mechanisms; however, other subsectors do not report such findings. Corporate governance of banks in comparison to other subsectors effectively engages in utilizing the potential of intellectual capital efficiency. Agency theory and resource dependency theory find limited support as a result of this study. The GMM results are not robust to the alternative instruments.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size is small as the study is limited to the listed financial sector of Oman. Future studies can be extended to include all of Oman's or GCC’s listed companies. Additionally, the intellectual capital is measured using the construct of VAIC which suffers some limitations and can be overcome using other tools such as content analysis.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study suggest that Oman's regulators can create an awareness strategy on highlighting the importance of intellectual capital for companies (board of directors and managers), investors, debtors and creditors. Further, Oman's Capital Market Authority and Muscat Securities Market need to strengthen the regulations related to intellectual capital.Originality/valueThis study extends intellectual capital and corporate governance literature by presenting the research outcome for Oman's financial sector. It is useful for Oman's financial sector companies to direct corporate governance measures for driving value creation of firms through the management of intellectual capital efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Javad Rajabalizadeh ◽  
Javad Oradi

PurposeWhile prior research in the area of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure has mainly focused on firm, board and audit committee characteristics, there is little research on whether managerial characteristics are associated with IC disclosure. This study aims to examine the relationship between managerial ability (MA) and the extent of IC disclosure.Design/methodology/approachThe study sample comprises 1,098 firm-year observations of Iranian listed firms during 2012–2017. This study uses the checklist developed by Li et al. (2008) and adopts a content analysis approach and calculates the IC disclosure index in 62 dimensions within three categories: human capital, structural capital and relational capital. To measure MA, this study uses the managerial ability score (MA-Score) developed by Demerjian et al. (2012) for Iranian firms.FindingsThe results show that MA is significantly and negatively associated with the overall extent of IC disclosure and all the three components of IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital). Further analysis shows that the interaction between MA and firm performance is positive and significant, suggesting that the negative relationship between MA and IC disclosure is less pronounced for high-performing firms. This study addresses the potential endogeneity issue by using the propensity score matching approach. The findings are also robust to the alternative measure of MA.Originality/valueThis study contributes to both the MA literature and the IC disclosure literature. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to provide empirical evidence on the relationship between MA and IC disclosure.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu ◽  
Haris ◽  
Yao

The purpose of this study is to determine and compare the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and banks’ performance in China and Pakistan. The data are acquired from listed banks in these two countries during 2010–2018. The Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC™) method is applied as a measure of IC. The results show that capital employed efficiency (CEE) makes the highest contribution to bank performance in both countries. In addition, the profitability of listed Chinese banks is driven by structural capital efficiency (SCE), while human capital efficiency (HCE) positively affects bank profitability and productivity in Pakistan. In addition, we find that the lagged effect of IC has a positive impact on future bank profitability. This study supports greater investment in IC in order to further improve bank performance in emerging Asian markets.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 784-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leena Afroz Mostofa Chowdhury ◽  
Tarek Rana ◽  
Mohammad Istiaq Azim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to, the first of its kind, investigate the relationship between the intellectual capital efficiency and organisational performance of the pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh, an emerging economy that enjoys Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) relaxation. Design/methodology/approach The study used hand-picked data from annual reports for five years. The relationship between efficient use of intellectual capital and corporate performance was examined through the practical use of human capital, structural capital and capital employed. Multiple regressions were used to assess their impact on financial performance – specifically, return on assets, return on equity, asset turnover and market-to-book value. Findings Value-added intellectual coefficient components (i.e. human capital, structural capital and capital employed) significantly explained asset turnover and return on assets but failed to predict the return on equity outcome. Additionally, asset turnover was negatively influenced by structural capital and positively influenced by capital employed. The return on assets was mostly affected by variation in human capital. Intellectual capital did not predict market-to-book value or investment decisions. Practical implications This paper provides useful resources for evaluating the financial performance and value creation of companies in emerging economies that enjoy TRIPS exemptions; this research could also be extended using cross-industry comparisons. The findings have theoretical and practical implications, particularly for the pharmaceutical industry in emerging economy contexts, and for managers globally. Originality/value This study is among only a few that have reported on the relationship between intellectual capital efficiency and value creation in emerging economy contexts.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amina Buallay ◽  
Ala’a Adden Abuhommous ◽  
Gagan Kukreja

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and employees' productivity (EP) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.Design/methodology/approachThe value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) is used to measure IC performance in 198 firms listed in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain from 2012 to 2014. The pooled-corrected estimation technique is used to estimate a panel regression model with EP as the dependent variable. Firm size and sectors are controlled for in the regression analysis. The independent variable (IC) has been measured using human capital efficiency (HCE), structural capital efficiency and capital employed efficiency (CEE) in order to measure the value of IC.FindingsBased on the VAIC, the authors found that the values of IC investments are mostly generated from investments in human capital. The results of the panel-corrected ordinary least square indicate that VAIC and its individual components are positive and significantly related to variations in employees' productivity. HCE contributed the highest and CEE contributed lowest VAIC.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper is to show the importance of investment in the human capital as a key contributor of firm's performance. Hence, this study encourages firm's leaders and management in the GCC to invest and focus their management/leadership styles on human capital to achieve their goals. To the best of the knowledge of the coauthors, this is the first study which empirically examines the relationship between IC and EP in the GCC region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayse Elvan Bayraktaroglu ◽  
Fethi Calisir ◽  
Murat Baskak

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an extended and modified value-added (VA) intellectual coefficient (VAIC) model, which includes intellectual capital (IC) components which were missing in the original VAIC approach. The proposed model has been used to explore the relationship between IC and firm performance for Turkish manufacturing firms on a more detailed level. Design/methodology/approach Multiple regression analysis has been employed to identify the IC components, which predict the performance of the firm and the moderating effect of some IC components on IC components–firm performance relationship. Data are required to calculate the IC components, and firm performance variables have been obtained from the financial reports of the Turkish manufacturing firms for the period 2003–2013. Findings According to the results for Turkish manufacturing sector innovation capital efficiency has a moderating effect on the relationship between structural capital efficiency (SCE) and profitability, meaning, depending on an increase in R&D expenses, the effect of SCE on profitability also increases. On the other hand, it has been found that innovation capital efficiency has a direct impact on firms’ productivity. The results also showed that IC efficiency components have a moderating role on the relationship between capital employed efficiency and profitability. Research limitations/implications There might be a time lag until the effect of R&D investments can be observed in firms’ performance. However, this lagged impact of innovation capital and also other IC components on future firm performance has not been investigated due to concerns related to sample size. Originality/value The proposed model differs from the original VAIC model in three ways: it, namely, includes two additional IC components, customer capital (CC) and innovation capital. It explores the moderating effect of innovation capital on structural capital–firm performance relationship and the moderating effect of IC components on employed capital–firm performance relationship. As the last difference, it proposes an alteration in the VA calculation due to newly added IC components, CC and innovation capital.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 802-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gholamhossein Mehralian ◽  
Jamal A. Nazari ◽  
Peivand Ghasemzadeh

PurposeKnowledge is a key success factor in achieving competitive advantage in the current fast-paced and uncertain economic environment. Several studies in the literature have analyzed the relationship between knowledge creation (KC) and organizational success; however, the mechanisms by which KC leads to accumulation of intellectual capital (IC) and thereby affects various dimensions of organizational performance are understudied. The purpose of this paper is to examine how KC and IC and their relationship influence key dimensions of organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachA research model was developed and tested based on the literature in the areas of KC, IC and organizational performance. This study uses a survey sent to companies in an intensive knowledge-based industry. The balanced scorecard (BSC) approach was used to measure the key dimensions of organizational performance.FindingsThe results from structural equation modeling (SEM) on 470 completed questionnaires received from the pharmaceutical companies in Iran reveal that KC activities lead to the accumulation of organizational IC and IC has a crucial and positive impact on the BSC. Furthermore, the results from the path analysis indicate that IC mediates the effects of KC on the BSC.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study contribute to the extant literature on the relationship between knowledge and organizational performance by demonstrating that knowledge and KC lead to performance when organizations utilize KC activities and leverage them to accumulate IC. Once used effectively, IC will result in a better performance in the knowledge-intensive environments.Originality/valueThis is the first study that investigates how KC contributes to firm performance by incorporating the mediating impact of IC on the BSC. The proposed model and results will help organizations to identify the mechanisms through which KC initiatives improve organizational performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1107-1124
Author(s):  
Zhining Wang ◽  
Shaohan Cai ◽  
Mengli Liu ◽  
Dandan liu ◽  
Lijun Meng

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to develop a tool measuring individual intellectual capital (IIC) and investigate the relationship between self-reflection and IIC.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed a theoretical model based on social cognitive theory and the literature of self-reflection and intellectual capital (IC). This research collected responses from 502 dyads of employees and their direct supervisors in 150 firms in China, and the study tested the research model using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe results indicate that three components of self-reflection, namely, need for self-reflection, engagement in self-reflection and insight, significantly contribute to all the three components of IIC, such as individual human capital, individual structural capital and individual relational capital. The findings suggest that need for self-reflection is the weakest component to impact individual human capital and individual relationship capital, while insight is the one that mostly enhances individual structural capital.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests that managers can enhance employees' IIC by facilitating their self-reflection. Managers can develop appropriate strategies based on findings of this study, to achieve their specific goals.Originality/valueFirst, this study develops a tool for measuring IIC. Second, this study provides an enriched theoretical explanation on the relationship between self-reflection and IIC – by showing that the three subdimensions of self-reflection, such as need, engagement and insight, influence the three subdimensions of IIC, such as individual human capital, individual structural capital and individual relational capital.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngoc Phu Tran ◽  
Duc Hong Vo

PurposeIn developed countries, banks are perceived to accumulate a higher level of intellectual capital than firms in other sectors. However, this perception has not been considered or tested in the context of an emerging market such as Vietnam, which has one of the most dynamic economies in the Asian region. This study estimates and compares the level of accumulation of intellectual capital and its four components by financial and nonfinancial firms in Vietnam. Furthermore, this study examines the relationship between intellectual capital and its components and the performance of financial and nonfinancial firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses data collected from the annual reports of 75 financial and 75 nonfinancial firms in Vietnam from 2011 to 2018. A modified value-added intellectual coefficient model is adopted to measure the level of intellectual capital at firms. Various aspects of intellectual capital are considered, including the efficiency of human capital, structural capital, capital employed and relational capital. In addition, the generalized method of moments is used to ensure the robustness of the findings.FindingsFindings in this study indicate that financial firms in Vietnam have accumulated a higher level of intellectual capital than nonfinancial firms. In addition, intellectual capital contributes positively to financial firms' performance. Three components of intellectual capital – structural capital efficiency, capital employed efficiency and relational capital efficiency – positively affect performance by financial firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to financial and nonfinancial firms in Vietnam. Empirical studies in the future should incorporate the efficiency aspects of these types of firms because different industries might have different characteristics, in particular, their current efficiency level, which might cause differences in relation to the accumulation of intellectual capital.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide valuable evidence and implications for executives and policymakers in creating, managing and enhancing intellectual capital within the Vietnamese context, in particular in the financial sector.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study conducted in the context of Vietnam, with the following two objectives: (1) to measure and compare the level of accumulation of intellectual capital by financial and nonfinancial firms in Vietnam; and (2) to examine the contribution of intellectual capital and its components to the performance by financial and nonfinancial firms in Vietnam.


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