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Intellectual capital drivers of product and managerial innovation in high‐tech and low‐tech firms
Author(s) -
BuenecheaElberdin Marta,
Kianto Aino,
Sáenz Josune
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
randd management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.253
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1467-9310
pISSN - 0033-6807
DOI - 10.1111/radm.12271
Subject(s) - enabling , contingency , intellectual capital , business , context (archaeology) , contingency theory , knowledge management , high tech , innovation management , pace , product innovation , new product development , industrial organization , marketing , computer science , psychology , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , geodesy , political science , law , psychotherapist , biology , geography
There is widespread understanding that intellectual capital (IC), consisting of the valuable knowledge resources of an organization, is a key enabler of innovation activities; however, little is known about the more specific contingencies impacting the relationship between IC and innovation. Thus, this article examines firm technology level and innovation type as contingency variables. It was argued that because high‐tech and low‐tech firms differ in terms of several knowledge characteristics (complexity, tacitness and pace of renovation), it is likely that their innovation performance is supported by different combinations of IC components. Furthermore, differences between product/service and managerial innovation could also lead to changes in the degree of relevance of various IC components. To test these contingency hypotheses, a survey dataset collected from 180 Spanish companies is analysed using structural equation modelling. The results demonstrate that both firm's technology level and type of innovation affect how IC influences innovation performance. The findings contribute to a knowledge‐based perspective on innovation and pave the way for a more context‐sensitive and contingency‐mindful approach to understanding innovation and knowledge‐based value creation.