Antecedents and consequences of intellectual capital. The role of social capital, knowledge sharing and innovation

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-05-2017-0068
Pages858-874
Date09 July 2018
Published date09 July 2018
AuthorSayyed Mohsen Allameh
Subject MatterKnowledge management,Accounting & Finance,Accounting/accountancy,HR & organizational behaviour,Organizational structure/dynamics,Information & knowledge management
Antecedents and consequences of
intellectual capital
The role of social capital, knowledge sharing
and innovation
Sayyed Mohsen Allameh
Department of Management, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose and test an integrated model focusing on the drivers and
consequences of intellectual capital in the context of the hotel industry.
Design/methodology/approach A quantitative study was conducted, including 156 hotels located in
Iran. Structural equation modeling examines the validity of constructs and path relationships.
Findings The results of the PLS-SEM analysis provided three findings as follows: the three dimensions of
social capital, namely the structural, relational, and cognitive social capital, had positive effects on knowledge
sharing; knowledge sharing had positive effects on three components of intellectual capital (human capital,
structural capital and relational capital); and intellectual capital dimensions, which in turn, lead to innovation.
Originality/value The combination of a developing country context and the significance of social capital,
knowledge sharing, intellectual capital and innovation in hotel industry enhance the contextual contribution
of the paper.
Keywords Social capital, Innovation, Hotel industry, Intellectual capital, Knowledge sharing
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Knowledge-based organizations make up a large and vital part of modern societies and gain
more considerable and effective share in the market (Abili, 2011). The knowledge-based
view suggests that knowledge is the main source of value and creating organizational value
mainly depends on the organizations ability to collect and use knowledge (Hsu and
Sabherwal, 2012; Zhou and Li, 2012). Using knowledge, organizations can apply their own
information with aspects of human added value such as vision, entrepreneurship, concepts
and experiences (Christopoulou et al., 2014; Tuan, 2015).
The type of human interactions and communications is very important for the effective
implementation and management of knowledge processes; therefore, social capital and its
dimensions become important (Farahani et al., 2016). The importance of organizational
social capital is in that it causes people (groups, teams, and organizations) to work together
successfully to accomplish tasks. Organizational social capital builds a sense of cohesion
by creating trust and collaboration. Elements such as trust, mutual understanding,
commitment and stability create a type of communication that helps maintain organizations
in the changing markets (Cohen and Prusak, 2001).
In addition, the companies associated with the tourism industry, especially the hotel
industry, need to view innovation as an essential strategy in the current era in order to
survive the completely competitive and knowledge-based business environment (Souto,
2015; Fraj et al., 2015; Molina-Azorín et al., 2015; Camisón et al., 2016). To encounter the
environmental changes and developments, they need to identify such changes and the
factors underlying organizational innovation and provide the most appropriate answers to
the changes (Chopani et al., 2012; Carlisle et al., 2013; Sung and Choi, 2014; Guttentag, 2015;
García-Villaverde et al., 2017). Hence, due to the intense competition, the complex, dynamic
and changing environment, organizations are totally dependent on their own knowledge
and information-based ability for their survival and growth (Hohenthal and Johanson, 2014;
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 19 No. 5, 2018
pp. 858-874
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-05-2017-0068
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
858
JIC
19,5
Nieves et al., 2016; Prajogo and Oke, 2016; Vahlne and Jonsson, 2017). It is considered a
challenge for organizations to create mechanisms to identify sources of knowledge well and
store and collect the knowledge developed in their organizations and disseminates it among
people throughout the organization (Sigala and Chalkiti, 2014; Villar et al., 2014; Masadeh
et al., 2017). Therefore, the main issue is that organizations should be able to identify the
factors affecting the strengthening of intellectual capital and to measure its impact on
innovation (Zerenler et al., 2008; Dumay et al., 2013; Buenechea-Elberdin, 2017).
Meanwhile, in order to promote successful innovation, a holistic understanding of the
relationshipsamong social capital and intellectual capital components, and consequencesis
necessary in organizations (Wu et al., 2008; Delgado-Verde et al., 2014; Chahal and Bakshi,
2015; Chitsazan et al., 2017). Much researchhas recognized the importanceof social capital and
intelectual capital, investigating how organizational factors such as extrinsic incentives,
knowledge acquisition, organizational learning, culture, climate, and so on influence
innovation (Zhou and Li, 2012; Hu and Randel, 2014; Glisson, 2015; Hmieleski et al., 2015;
Martínez-Pérez et al., 2016; Farahani et al.,2016;Agostiniet al., 2017). However, to best our
knowledge, researchers and practitioners in the hotel industry have not developed an
integrative model that investigates the antecedents and consequences of intellectual capital
from a holistic perspective. As a result, considering the increasing importance of knowledge
and intangible assets of organizations, we have sought to study the relationship between
social capital and innovation through knowledge sharing and intellectual capital.
2. Literature review and hypotheses
2.1 Social capital
Social capital is a concept known as a valuable asset for the protection and security of
societies and empowerment of organizations (Timberlake, 2005). Social capital plays an
important role in meeting the needs of organizations and contributes to their survival in
todays competitive world. In other words, social capital facilitates knowledge sharing, value
creation, competitive advantage, better and faster performance, and further development of
an organization (Abili, 2011). The sum of the actual and potential resources embedded
within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an
individual or social unit (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998). Several models have been developed
due to the various studies conducted regarding the organizational concept of social capital
and its multi-dimensional nature (Leana and Van Buren, 1999; Bolino et al., 2002). Nahapiet
and Ghoshal identified and researched three dimensions of social capital used in this study;
namely, structural capital, relational capital, and cognitive capital). In this model, social
capital includes relationships, values and norms that enable people to act and conduct
collectively referring to the common goals and shared values, trust, empathy and social
interaction among staff. Structural capital includes social relationships and networks which
determine how to communicate with one another. The factors in this dimension include
network patterns, density, connectivity and hierarchy. Relational capital is the effective
component of capital (Chow and Chan, 2008), describing the network relationships in terms
of trust between people, shared norms and identification by other people on the network
(Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005). Finally, cognitive capital consists of the shared objectives,
vision and values of the organizations members (Wasko and Faraj, 2005).
2.2 Knowledge sharing
In the era of knowledge-based economy, it is crucial to have intangible resources and
competence in order for companies to survive in dynamic environments (Subramaniam and
Youndt, 2005). Knowledge sharing refers to activities through which knowledge is shared or
exchanged in different forms from an individual, group or organization to another
859
Intellectual
capital

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