Intellectual capital, knowledge management and social capital within the ICT sector in Jordan
| Pages | 437-462 |
| Date | 10 April 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-06-2016-0067 |
| Published date | 10 April 2017 |
| Author | Bushra Meaad Ramadan,Samer Eid Dahiyat,Nick Bontis,Mahmoud Ali Al-dalahmeh |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management,HR & organizational behaviour,Organizational structure/dynamics,Accounting & Finance,Accounting/accountancy,Behavioural accounting |
Intellectual capital, knowledge
management and social capital
within the ICT sector in Jordan
Bushra Meaad Ramadan
Risk Consult Limited, Amman, Jordan
Samer Eid Dahiyat
School of Business, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
Nick Bontis
DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, and
Mahmoud Ali Al-dalahmeh
School of Business, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the mediating effect of social capital (SC)
on knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC).
Design/methodology/approach –A conceptual model of the connections between IC, KM, and SC was
developedand the posited hypotheses were tested usinga survey data set of 281 questionnaires collectedfrom
knowledgeworkers working in 72 informationand communicationstechnology companies operatingin Jordan.
Findings –The findings show that knowledge documentation and knowledge transfer emerged as having
the strongest effects on IC, followed by knowledge acquisition and knowledge creation, while knowledge
application was found to have an insignificant effect. Also, knowledge transfer and knowledge acquisition
emerged as the only two significant processes for the development of SC. Moreover, SC was found to partially
and significantly mediate the effects of all processes on IC.
Practical implications –To promote the developmentof IC, particularly, in a knowledge-intensive business
service (KIBS) sector, documentation, transfer, acquisition, and creation of knowledge are especially effective
processes. Furthermore, SC can be significantly enhanced through ensuring effective internal knowledge
transfer and acquisition practices. Nurturing IC in a knowledge-intensive context can also be significantly
enhanced through looking at the firm as a cooperativeknowledge-sharing entity, i.e. investing in SC.
Originality/value –This is the first empirical study that has examined the links among KM processes,
SC, and IC in a KIBS sector within an “oil-poor,”“humanresource-rich”Arab developing country context.
Keywords Social capital, Knowledge management, Intellectual capital, Jordan, Knowledge development,
Information communications technology
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
A major facet of the modern economy is the ascending importance of the role of “knowledge-
intensive business services (KIBS)”sectors, which inextricably link an organization’s ability
to build a sustainable competitive advantage with its ability to develop and exploit its
knowledge-based resources and capabilities (Drucker, 1993; Howells and Tether, 2004;
Youndt et al., 2004; Romer, 2004; Liao et al., 2010; Tseng and Lee, 2014; AlKhalil et al., 2014;
Dahiyat, 2015). A vital driving force behind such a shift in how economic value can be
created and enhanced has been Grant’s (1996) knowledge-based view of the firm. According
to such a view, the way in which firms create, develop, and use their knowledge and
intellectual assets is considered the main factor that explains differences in these firms’
competitive performances.
Afirm’s ability to manage intellectual capital (IC) assets is inseparably linked to its
knowledgemanagement (KM) capability(Bontis, 1999; Gold et al., 2001;Andreeva and Kianto,
2011; Rajesh et al., 2011). In fact, the terms KM and IC are closely related and embrace all
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 18 No. 2, 2017
pp. 437-462
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-06-2016-0067
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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437
IC, KM and
SC within the
ICT sector
in Jordan
aspects of intellectual activitieswithin an organizationfrom knowledge creation to knowledge
leverage (Rastogi,2000). A number of theoretical and empirical studies have investigated the
relationshipsbetween KM and IC (e.g. Bontis, 2004; Rastogi, 2000;Marr et al., 2003; Zhou and
Fink, 2003; Huss, 2004; Shih et al., 2010; Huang and Wu, 2010; Seleim and Khalil, 2011;
Hsu and Sabherwal, 2012). Generally speaking, these aforementioned researchers have
considered a firm’s IC as a knowledge stock, which it possesses at a particular point in time
and that is managed and accumulated through the dynamic processes related to managing
the flows of knowledge (Bontis et al., 2002).
The widely acknowledged vital roles of KM and IC are particularly important in the
context of KIBS sectors such as information and communications technology (ICT) and
pharmaceuticals. The core assets in these and other knowledge-intensive industries are
reflected in the know-what, know-how, expertise, and creativity of knowledge workers
(Dooley, 2000). As such, KIBS sectors are essentially seen as knowledge-dependent ones,
where the continuous development and exploitation of knowledge and intellectual-based
assets is vital to supporting business improvement and competitiveness (Pappa et al., 2009;
Mehralian et al., 2014; Dahiyat, 2015).
Although the role of KM processes in building IC is necessary and important,
nevertheless, it is not considered to be solely sufficient for the accumulation of essential
knowledge assets. Knowledge creation is a social process and as a result requires social
interactions among individuals. These social interactions are believed to be critical for
creating and accumulating collective knowledge especially within communities normally
engaged in frequent dialogue, knowledge sharing, continuous learning, and R&D which
shape and define organizational capabilities and competencies (Dahiyat and Al-Zu’bi, 2012;
Monavvarian et al., 2013). Therefore, social capital (SC) plays a vital role in mediating the
relationship between knowledge management processes (KMPs) and IC development
(Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998; Gold et al., 2001; Wu and Tsai, 2005; McElroy et al., 2006;
Lee and Sukoco, 2007; Huang and Wu, 2010; Manning, 2010; Seleim and Khalil, 2011;
Monavvarian et al., 2013). It is suggested that SC can enhance a firm’s capacity to
disseminate knowledge resources within the organization by facilitating the right conditions
necessary for knowledge processes to take place. Ultimately, intra-firm interactions play a
vital role in creating and accumulating collective knowledge (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998),
through intensifying the willingness of knowledge workers to share their knowledge
(Lee and Sukoco, 2007). As such, SC is considered an important factor to assisting value
creation in organizations (Tsai, 2000).
The paper is structuredas follows: first, an examination of the literature is conducted and
then a conceptual model is developed by examining the linkages between IC and KM and
delineating thoseknowledge processes positedas antecedents. Four hypothesesare proposed
based on the extant literature addressing the interconnections among KM, SC, and IC.
The next section presents the research methodology, data collection, measurements of
research variables, and tests of validity and reliability. Finally, results of data analysis and
hypotheses testing are presented with a discussion of findings, highlighting the research
contributions, and conclusions.
2. Research theoretical model and hypotheses development
2.1 IC and KM
Despite the plausibility of the existence of a causal link between KM and IC, it was noticed
that most of the extant studies investigated the relationship of either KM or IC on
organizational performance (e.g. Youndt, 1998; Dooley, 2000; Seleim et al., 2004; Marr et al.,
2004; Seleim and Khalil, 2007; Schiuma and Lerro, 2008; Chang, 2009; Mills and Smith, 2011;
Tseng and Lee, 2014) and few have examined the influence of KM processes on developing
IC dimensions. Moreover, SC is seen as an important catalyst for both KM and IC, but few
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