Title: Relation between intellectual capital and the product process innovation

Authors: Helena Santos-Rodrigues; Carlos M. Fernández-Jardón; Pedro Figueroa Dorrego

Addresses: Departamento de Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, Escola Superior de Tecnologia Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Viana do Castelo, Portugal ' Departamento de Economia Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Economicas y Empresariales, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Universitario Lagoas, Marcosende, 36200 Vigo, Spain; IDLAB, HSE, 38 Studencheskaya Ulitsa, Perm, 614070, Russia ' Departamento de Organización de Empresas y Marketing, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y de la Comunicación, Universidade de Vigo, Campus A Xunqueira, s/n, Pontevedra, 36005, Spain

Abstract: This study aims to identify the influence of intellectual capital on product and process innovation. To do so, we have administered a survey to 68 firms that belong to the auto components sector, located in Northern Spain and Northern Portugal. In our study, we identified three dimensions within the intellectual capital components. Human capital: formation and knowledge creation, innovative attitude and innovate incentive; structural capital: culture of innovation, the trust and creation and knowledge development, finally, relational capital: collaboration networks, clients and alliances. The elements of intellectual capital with a direct and positive influence in the product-process innovativeness were the human capital and the relational capital. However, not all dimensions of these components have a direct and positive influence. Concerning human capital, only the innovative attitude and innovation incentive dimensions seem to directly and positively influence the product-process innovativeness. The relational capital has influence in the product-process innovativeness; only through clients and collaboration networks.

Keywords: intellectual capital; human capital; structural capital: relational capital; product innovation; process innovation; automotive components; component manufacturing; automobile industry; Spain; Portugal; innovative attitudes; innovation incentives; innovation culture; trust; knowledge creation; knowledge development; collaboration networks; strategic alliances.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKBD.2015.069454

International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, 2015 Vol.6 No.1, pp.15 - 33

Accepted: 24 Feb 2015
Published online: 16 May 2015 *

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