Pedro López Sáez

Intellectual capital in high‐tech firms

Purpose – The literature shows several intellectual capital models. Nevertheless, there is little empirical evidence about the building blocks that form intellectual capital in practice. The purpose of this paper is to test the widespread categorization of human capital, structural capital, and relational capital with a survey applied to high‐technology firms from Spain.Design/methodology/approach – Factor analysis was conducted with a sample of 49 firms (larger than 50 employees).Findings – The results indeed demonstrate the existence of three main components of intellectual capital that, in general, fit the dominant structure proposed by other authors.Research limitations/implications – Before moving into an internationally accepted system for classification and measurement of intellectual capital, future research should seek a geographical and industrial agreement about the main components of this construct. In that direction, our empirical evidence provides only the experience of Spanish high‐tech fir...

The role of corporate reputation in developing relational capital

In the present business landscape, relations between firms are one of the most valuable assets. This work points out the main agents to which firms are related, and which build up their relational capital. This proposal highlights the gathering of agents in different levels; one of them constituted by the relations with customers, suppliers, partners, and investors; and the second one related to the relations with state or public sector entities, regulatory institutions, and with the community, as part of a wider or more general environment. Once presented, relational capital, the strategic relevance of corporate reputation is discussed, with a trigger and moderator role for all the previously mentioned relations.

El papel del capital intelectual en la innovación tecnológica. Un aplicación a las empresas de servicios profesionales de España

Resumen El conocimiento organizativo, asi como sus diferentes manifestaciones, juegan un papel crucial a la hora de desarrollar de forma efectiva los procesos, productos y proyectos de la empresa (Kogut y Zander, 1996; Teece, 1998; Alegre y Lapiedra, 2005). El presente trabajo explora el impacto que pueden tener las diferentes manifestaciones de conocimiento organizativo o capital intelectual sobre la capacidad de innovacion en empresas de servicios profesionales. Para lograr este proposito, en un primer apartado se lleva a cabo un analisis factorial exploratorio de donde se extraen los tres bloques principales de capital intelectual: capital humano, capital estructural y capital relacional. En la etapa siguiente se plantean las hipotesis basicas que determinan una influencia positiva de estos tipos de capital intelectual, asi como de sus dimensiones principales, sobre la innovacion empresarial. De los resultados empiricos alcanzados para el caso de las empresas de servicios profesionales espanolas, destaca el papel de las relaciones con clientes, asi como las competencias en tecnologias de la informacion o las alianzas y reputacion empresarial.

The complexity in technological capabilities: evidence from biotechnological Spanish firms

The difficult recognition of some individual knowledge-based resources contained within any technological capability and the comprehension of their contribution to its operation, are the most recognised attributes of assets, which must accomplish to create and sustain competitive advantages. Nevertheless, the strategic value of intangible resources needs to receive more empirical attention, since previous results dealing with complexity and its effects on firm success are not conclusive at all. Apart from some environmental variables, one of the reasons that can explain this situation can be related to the theoretical treatment complexity received in the literature. Because of this, our aim is to develop an in-depth empirical analysis, where both quantitative and qualitative approaches to the complexity construct are integrated. To do that, we studied the empirical evidence coming from a sample of biotechnological Spanish firms devoted to either human or animal health.

El efecto mediador del capital social sobre los beneficios de la empresa: una aproximación teórica

The purpose of this paper is to analyze, from a theoretical perspective, the role that social capital has on the firm’s economic function. Based on the essential components of the proposed definition and on the dimensions and characteristics that constitute it, this research examines the two types of existing social capital in the firm: one internal, that results from the internal network of relationships and another one external, resulting from networks of relationships positioned outside its organizational limits. With an enumeration of a serie of propositions, our research analyzes how different configurations of both types of social capital influence the achievement of additional rents for the firm.

Intellectual Capital and Technological Innovation: Knowledge-Based Theory and Practice

Knowledge has become a critical factor for contemporary firms. Its increasing relevance has given rise to a new theory of the firm and which closely ties knowledge creation and application to competitive advantage, enhancing support for this knowledge-based view of innovation. Intellectual Capital and Technological Innovation: Knowledge-Based Theory and Practice provides relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings to improve understanding of the current innovation processes from the knowledge based perspective, giving special attention to both the intellectual capital assets that intervene in it, and the social capital that surrounds and enhances or hinders this phenomenon. This book has particular relevance for mangers, academics and consultants benefiting from a thorough understanding of intellectual capital and social capital as a base for improving their tasks.

La Influencia de las Capacidades Dinamicas sobre los Resultados Financieros de la Empresa

La Perspectiva de las Capacidades Dinamicas surge en la ultima decada para mejorar la capacidad explicativa de la Teoria de Recursos y Capacidades en lo que respecta a la obtencion de ventaja competitiva sostenible por parte de las empresas cuando estas operan en entornos de rapido cambio. Sin embargo, algunos aspectos relativos a su conceptuacion, sobre todo en relacion a los factores que las componen, parecen no estar del todo claros. El presente trabajo pretende ofrecer una sintesis conceptual del termino, tratando de identificar los factores clave en el desarrollo de capacidades dinamicas por parte de las empresas, y que componen el modelo teorico propuesto. En base a una muestra de 177 empresas de todo el mundo que operan en la industria del software, se lleva a cabo un estudio empirico, cuyos resultados muestran que las empresas que desarrollan conjuntamente capacidad de absorcion y capacidad de innovacion obtienen mejores resultados.

A proposal for identification of firm technological competences

This paper provides a framework for analysing technological competencies along its main variables and measures. We choose an industry setting (professional service firms) for which technological competencies can explain performance differences among firms. Our model is based on an extensive literature review relating to intellectual capital and technological capital and on a series of seminars and workshops, involving both academics and practitioners. This model can improve the decisions about technological assets within the firm (gathering and classifying information about them), and allow external agents to analyse the potential of the technological bases of a certain firm.

The Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm and the Question of Firm Boundaries

Corporate strategy and firm growth is probably one of the most relevant topics for management practice. This kind of decision has been addressed by theories of the firm as the question of firm boundaries. Economic theories of the firm have mainly used a cost-related perspective to answer this question. Nevertheless, from the mid-1990s, the strategy field has claimed a richer perspective in order to explain the existence, boundaries and internal organization of the firm, according to the requirements of a knowledgebased economy (Grant, 1996; Kogut & Zander, 1996; Conner & Prahalad, 1996; Foss, 1996). The Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm (KBT) steps ahead of this claim. It has been considered as the largest subset of the growing literature on strategic theories of the firm, although with some weaknesses in explaining the existence of the firm yet with strengths for understanding value creation and the location of firm boundaries (Phelan & Lewin, 2000).

Firms’ Intellectual Capital

The rise of the knowledge-based economy and society has been attributed to the predominance of intellectual capital (IC) as a key resource for obtaining sustained competitive advantages among firms (Bonus, 2001; Dean and Kretschmer, 2007).