Intellectual, Human and Structural Capital Effects on Firm Performance as Measured by Tobin's Q

Today, competitive advantage and success are achieved by strategic management of intellectual capital rather than allocation of physical and financial resources. Although intellectual capital is not a tangible and objective factor, it is often measured in order to compare the market value and development of firms and improve their performance. This paper examines the relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance in Iran using the Pulic's model. In this model, value added intellectual coefficient is used to evaluate firms' intellectual capital. Also, the relationship between intellectual capital and firms' market value is examined. In addition to intellectual capital, the relationship between the components of intellectual capital—that is, human and structural capital—and performance is also investigated. The empirical data is collected from 100 firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) during the period 2000–2006. The results support the hypothesis that human and intellectual capital are positively related to performance (Tobin's Q), and intellectual capital can be taken into consideration for improving the performance of Iranian firms. Also, value added intellectual coefficient proves to be an effective tool that can be used by current decision‐makers in Iran's capital market. The findings and discussions provided in this paper can be of interest to managers and capital market stakeholders. We emphasize that intellectual capital is the main source of value creation in the modern economy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.