Title: Intellectual capital management and organisational performance of small and medium enterprises in Oyo State, Nigeria

Authors: Funmilola O. Omotayo; Ojinga G. Omiunu

Addresses: Africa Regional Centre for Information Science, University of Ibadan, No. 6 Benue Road, 00176-0000, Nigeria ' Africa Regional Centre for Information Science, University of Ibadan, No. 6 Benue Road, 00176-0000, Nigeria

Abstract: The paper investigates the influence of intellectual capital (IC) on operational and financial performance of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Oyo State, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 210 SMEs owners. The conceptual model and relationships among independent and dependent variables were tested by partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), using SmartPLS3. The study found no significant relationship between the IC components (human capital, structural capital and relational capital) and performance of the SMEs. However, a significant relationship was observed when the variables were jointly considered. The study provides SMEs owners the awareness on the need to manage their IC effectively and efficiently in order to maximise long-term profitability and competitiveness, and also offers insightful implications to academics and practitioners on the importance of IC components on Nigerian SMEs performance.

Keywords: intellectual capital; organisation performance; small and medium enterprises; Nigeria.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLIC.2019.102631

International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, 2019 Vol.16 No.4, pp.336 - 358

Received: 24 Feb 2018
Accepted: 17 Feb 2019

Published online: 30 Sep 2019 *

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