The Role of Intellectual Capital in the Value-Creation Process: Chains, Shops and Networks

Abstract

This study is aimed to show the relative importance of resources for companies with different value-creation logic. Ten hypotheses regarding the relative importance of certain IC components were developed and tested. Research is of subjectivist nature, quantitative, classifies as a case study. Main findings: intellectual capital is viewed as a main driver of value-creation by employees of companies that have all three different logics of value-creation – chain, shop and network. The research does not support the idea that one of major components of intellectual capital (human capital, relational capital and organizational capital) is more important than the other two for all companies in sample. Companies that were classified as value shops have proven to have the highest proportion of intellectual capital to total resources. For companies that were classified as value chains the proportion of hard kills to total human capital is higher than the proportion of soft skills. The proportion of relational capital to total resources is the highest for companies that were classified as value networks.