Unpacking the black box. How intrapreneurship intervenes in the intellectual capital-performance relationship?

Pages809-834
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-06-2019-0147
Date18 March 2020
Published date18 March 2020
AuthorKaveh Asiaei,Omid Barani,Nick Bontis,Maryam Arabahmadi
Subject MatterBehavioural accounting,Information & knowledge management,HR & organizational behaviour,Knowledge management,Organizational structure/dynamics
Unpacking the black box
How intrapreneurship intervenes in the
intellectual capital-performance relationship?
Kaveh Asiaei
Department of Accounting, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and
Department of Accounting, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Mashhad, Iran
Omid Barani
Department of Accounting, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Neyshabur, Iran
Nick Bontis
DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, and
Maryam Arabahmadi
Department of Accounting, Qaenat Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaenat, Iran
Abstract
Purpose Drawing largely upon resource orchestration theory, this study aims to contribute to the
intellectual capital (IC) literature by testing a model where intrapreneurship mobilizes resources to trigger firm
performance. More specifically, this study investigates how intrapreneurship mediates the relationship
between IC and financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach Data was collected using a structured questionnaire administered to a
target sample of publicly-listed Iranian companies acrossa variety of sectors. Archival data supplemented the
survey findings to capture financial performance. A structural equation modelling (SEM) approach, using
LISREL, was used to assess the measurement and structural models.
Findings The results supported the hypothesized associations among IC, intrapreneurship, and financial
performance. Furthermore, the findings provided some evidence that IC is indirectly related to financial
performance through the mediating role of intrapreneurship.
Research limitations/implications The focus on Iranian publicly listed companies limits the
generalizability of results.
Practical implications Managers need to align t he companys strategic resources with other
competencies such as intrapreneurial initiatives. The synthesis of knowledge resources and
intrapreneurship can he lp organization to better org anize, synchronize and supp ort i.e. orchestrate”–
their human and structural ca pital, improving the firms social and innovatio n capital and eventua lly
enhancing overall pe rformance.
Originality/value To our knowledge, this is the first study ever to explore the mediating role of
intrapreneurshipin the relationship between IC and financial performance from the resource orchestration lens.
Keywords Resource orchestration theory, Intellectual capital, Intrapreneurship, Financial performance,
Innovation, Iran
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Intrapreneurship (i.e. entrepreneurship within an existing organization) has generated a
surge of interest among both academic researchers and practitioners over the past few
decades (Fel
ıcio et al., 2012). Previous studies show that intrapreneurship may support
Unpacking the
black box
809
We are deeply grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their insightful contributions to the paper. We
would like also to extend our appreciation to the journals Editor-in-Chief, Professor Merrill Warkentin,
and the Associate Editor for sharing their pearls of wisdom with us during the course of this work.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1469-1930.htm
Received 19 June 2019
Revised 13 December 2019
28 January 2020
Accepted 12 February 2020
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 21 No. 6, 2020
pp. 809-834
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-06-2019-0147
organizationsefforts to revitalize their businesses, innovate, adapt to changes in their
internal and external environments, and improve their performance (Skarmeas et al., 2016).
Pioneering organizations place a great premium on developing strategies to internally foster
innovation. This can be manifested through intrapreneurship, a practice that stimulates the
creation of new business opportunities inside the organizational context (Antoncic and
Hisrich, 2001;Davis, 1999;Molina and Callahan, 2009). This notion has become a major area
of interest in the field of business, as it is perceived to be a contributing factor in mitigating
the lack of innovation and competitive capabilities in companies (Pinchot, 1985).
In todays knowledge-based economy, intellectual capital (IC) has become a critical factor
for organizations to constantly leverage their value (Serenko and Bontis, 2009,2017;Asiaei
and Jusoh, 2015,2017). The effective use of IC factors that mainly include human, structural,
and relational capital, is considered a cornerstone of sustainable competitive advantage
(Bontis, 1998;Stewart, 1997;Asiaei et al., 2018). Human-centered (human) capital embodies
employee capacities such as experience, skills, and know-how while organization-centered
(structural) capital represents all of a companys non-human storehouses of knowledge
(Inkinen, 2015;Bontis, 1999). Conversely, relationship-centered (i.e. relational) capital refers to
the value that arises from a companys external relations and networks, including a wide
range of parties such as government, customers, suppliers, partners and so forth (Edvinsson
and Malone, 1997;Roos and Roos, 1997).
From an organizational vantage point, IC is also particularly acknowledged as a key
factor and determinant in fostering an organizations innovative capacities (Subramaniam
and Youndt, 2005;Kianto et al., 2017;Buenechea-Elberdin, 2017;Dost et al., 2016). Such
capacity can be found in intrapreneurship an initiative that promotes the generation of
new business opportunities within an organization (Antoncic and Hisrich, 2001;Davis,
1999;Molina and Callahan, 2009). In this respect, it is argued that IC factors are
significantly related to the development of innovation, as well as broadly perceived as a
knowledge-dependent and intensive process (Bontis, 1998). It is also asserted that IC needs
to be directed towards perceiving, capturing, and seizing novel business opportunities (Al-
Janini et al., 2019). As such, current research assumes that IC comes to play as an
important enabler for an organizations intrapreneurial initiatives. Moreover, we argue that
intrapreneurship can be considered one of the important channels through which IC
factors may influence financial performance. In so doing, intrapreneurship is assumed to
intervene in the relationship between IC and financial performance by directing an
organizations human, structural, and relational capital towards business development,
and giving its IC a business mindset(Al-Janini et al., 2019;Vora et al., 2012).
Intrapreneurship may, therefore, act to support the organization to exploit its knowledge
resources in a more effective manner, enabling it to reap the full benefits of these
intangible assets, i.e. IC.
By drawing upon a unique synthesis of resource orchestration theory (Sirmon et al., 2007,
2011) and the fit-as-mediation notion (Venkatraman, 1989), the current study sheds light on
two questions: first, Do IC factors (i.e. human, structural, and relational capital) and
intrapreneurship individually affect financial performance?and, second, Do IC factors
influence financial performance through the mediating role of intrapreneurship?This paper
addresses these questions in a survey dataset of 112 Iranian public listed companies across a
variety of sectors using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on LISREL. The results
support the hypothesized associations among intellectual capital, intrapreneurship, and
financial performance. Furthermore, the findings provide some evidence that intellectual
capital is indirectly related to financial performance through the mediating role of
intrapreneurship. A sample from Iran, one of the most populous countries in the Middle
East and one of the largest economies in the region, can provide further insight into the
functions and implications of intrapreneurship and IC in a worldwide setting.
JIC
21,6
810

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