Csaba Deák

Interaction between Regional Intellectual Capital and Organizational Intellectual Capital: The Mediating Roles of Entrepreneurial Characteristics

Intellectual Capital (IC) or the ability to utilize knowledge resources is largely recognized by scholars and practitioners as the fundamental source and driver of an organisation’s competitive advantage. The concept of regional cognitive and intangible resources is particularly relevant when facing SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises). For the present research, two food industries have been selected and compared: the food industry in Northwest Italy and in North Hungary. Our hypothesis: depending on the characteristics of the founders/owners, not all SMEs participate in equal intensity in regional and organizational IC exchange. Some of them play an essential role in knowledge generation and diffusion, others operate in egoistic terms and others remain totally isolated. The research methodology employed is based on the analysis of several business cases. Through an examination of 32 cases in two different contexts, this research confirms the existence of different behaviours.