Abstract
1- Introduction
2- Literature review and development of hypotheses
3.- Data description and methodology
4- Methodology and model construction
5- Results and analysis
6- Conclusion
References
Abstract
In this current knowledge-based economy, firms' productivity and competitive advantage are no longer based on physical and financial assets but on intangible assets. This has compelled knowledge-intensive firms to look for a more reliable source for higher productivity and competitive advantage by focusing on their intellectual capital, which cannot be easily imitated. As banks are classified as knowledge intensive, this study examines investment in intellectual capital by banks and examines how it has improved bank productivity measured in terms of asset turnover (ATO) and employee productivity (EP). Using a panel of 73 commercial banks in India for a 12-year period (2006e2017), the study found that some components of intellectual capital improves productivity, and others do not.
Introduction
In recent years, global banking has been transformed by knowledge as a source of wealth, compared to other tangible and physical assets (Bontis, 1998). Knowledge has become the new engine driving organizations' wealth, and the World Bank (1999) stated that “knowledge is our most powerful engine of production.” Banks as service firms have been classified as a knowledgeintensive sector (Branco, Delgado, Sousa, & Sa, 2011), and studies explore the relevance of knowledge to bank performance (Edvinsson & Malone, 1997; Firer & Mitchell Williams, 2003; Kamath, 2015). This makes the recognition and development of knowledge management (intangible asset) an important aspect of bank management. Originally, the entire operations of banks depended on creativity, offering edge products and providing unique services in creating competitive advantage. Therefore, Chen, Cheng, and Hwang (2005) stated that banks are sources of economic value, and higher productivity comes from their intellectual capital (IC). This phenomenon has made the concept of IC popular in the current era of knowledge economies, building on the knowledge-based theory (KBV) of a firm. Barney (1991) considered these intellectual assets resources that can be physical capital, organizational capital, and human capital resources. Additionally, the resources are exactly what Pulic (1998) referred to as the components of IC that form the valueadded intellectual coefficient (VAIC) model. This model is useful in evaluating IC and in distinct features of organizations (El-Bannany, 2008).