The Role of Intellectual Capital in a Credit Cooperative: a multivariate analysis

Data
2014-09-04
Autores
Leal, Carmem Teresa Pereira
Marques, Carla Susana Da Encarnação
Marques, Carlos Peixeira
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Editora
Polytechnic Institute of Santarém
Resumo
To stay ahead of their competitors, firms need to create and develop proactive strategies that emphasize factors that differentiate them from others in their sector. In this sense and given the current scenario of marketplace instability and uncertainty, the way firms develop and manage their intellectual capital (IC) is crucial. Firms can be distinguished from their rivals in terms of their ability to identify, invest in and manage their IC – in other words the knowledge over which they exercise control or influence – an intangible asset that is not as easily quantifiable or replicable as other assets. In today’s globalized and highly competitive world, the only way to compete with producers benefiting from low production costs is to invest in people, and this requires organizations to believe in the creative ability, emotional intelligence and adaptability of their staff and collaborators. Human resources with appropriate skills, motivation and commitment are the key to increased competitiveness because only they have the capacity to create products and services with greater value for the consumer and thereby generate better performance by the organization. Numerous studies have highlighted the role of IC as a key driver of organizational performance due to its centrality as an asset in the value creation process (Chen, Shih and Yang, 2009; Kang and Snell, 2009; Campisini and Costa, 2008). However, few studies have demonstrated the relationship that may be developed between various aspects of IC and the satisfaction felt by the staff involved (Longo and Mura, 2011). Employee satisfaction (in general) and promotion opportunities expressing organizational recognition of staff contributions (in particular) provide a stimulus to greater committed to the organization’s interests and thereby enhance productivity, effectiveness and efficiency. Clearly, since human resources (HR) constitute the only asset that, strictly speaking, the organization does not own, and that the time and money it spends on training can easily be wasted if staff turnover is high, it is crucial for 21st century organizations of all types to attract, develop and above all retain qualified, committed and satisfied staff. Our focus on Credit Cooperatives (CC) is explained by their emergence as a significant alternative to large financial corporations ‐ especially private banks. CCs are able to offer specific and attractive benefits to their members and can play a key role in stimulating socioeconomic development at the territorial level (Araújo and Silva, 2011; Seguí‐Mas and Izquierdo, 2010). The aims of the research reported on here were (1) to identify which aspects of IC most influence employee satisfaction in the financial institutions analyzed and (2) to specify the type of influence these dimensions have on staff satisfaction. Data were collected using a questionnaire based on Bontis (1998) applied to all employees of a CC in north‐eastern Brazil. After processing the data using SPSS 21.0, it was found that (1) Human Capital is not an unidimensional concept and was further subdivided into training and participation; and (2) only structural and relational dimensions of IC affected respondents’ satisfaction positively. By making known to organizational leaders and managers that there exists a link – albeit indirect – between IC and organizational performance may encourage them to invest more in an intangible asset that has the intrinsic ability to create sustainable flows of value for both client and organization.
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Palavras-chave
intellectual capital , credit cooperatives , human capital , structural capital , relational capital
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