Influence of intellectual capital on innovation: an individual-level perspective

Abstract

Introduction: The influence of intellectual capital on innovation has frequently been studied at the organizational level with the perceptions that individuals have towards their employer; however, little attention has been given to the level of the individual with employees' perceptions of themselves. Therefore, this work aims to measure the influence that intellectual capital has on the intention of innovation at the individual level with a data collection instrument based on self-perceptions. Method: Through a case study, 97 questionnaires were applied to employees of a large service company in the city of Tampico in the month of December 2019. The observations were then treated with a structural equation model based on the analysis of variance with Smartpls software. The present investigation chose the population under study based on a census. Results: Intellectual capital has a positive and significant influence through 2 of its components (structural and relational capital) on the intention of innovation at the individual level. Discussion or Conclusion: The main component of intellectual capital (human capital) did not influence the intention of innovation at the individual level and it can be explained based on previous approaches at the organizational level and by the characteristics of the company. On the other hand, it was shown that the perspective of the individual based on self-perceptions can be valid to measure the relationship between intellectual capital and innovation.