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Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the extent of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) through websites and social media in Spanish local government (SLG) and analyze the factors that explain their disclosure. Design/methodology/approach: The study applies content analysis and regression techniques. The ICD is analyzed for Spanish municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants and provincial capitals over a period from January 2018 to February 2020. Findings: Findings emphasize that the quantity of disclosed information on intellectual capital (IC) is in the low level, particularly with regard to human capital (HC). Furthermore, the results show that the information provided via social media mainly concerns the relational capital (RC). On the other hand, results obtained indicate that larger municipalities, with lower financial autonomy and whose citizens have a high income level use the online media (both websites and social media) more actively to disclose information about IC. Finally, municipalities led by women and with high level of citizens' education exert a positive influence in the ICD only on websites. Practical implications: This paper makes a number of key contributions to the existing body of knowledge, focusing on ICD, a neglected area in the public sector accounting literature. It explores and identifies the supply-side and demand-side determinants of information affecting the ICD in local governments. The results of this research could be useful for policymakers, regulators and governments' managers to improve the online information addressing ICD issues. Originality/value: This paper adopts an innovative perspective by investigating the use of alternative tools for ICD in local government context (websites and social media). To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that focuses on investigating the determinants of online ICD in local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and quality of online intellectual capital (IC) disclosure released via websites and social media in relation to university stakeholders' information needs in Spanish public universities. In addition, this paper examines whether there are differences in the online IC disclosure according to the type of university. Design/methodology/approach: The study applies content analysis and a survey. The content analysis was used to analyse the websites and social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram) of all Spanish public universities in the year 2019, whereas the survey was submitted to all members of the Social Councils of Spanish public universities. Findings: The findings indicate that university stakeholders attach great importance to online disclosure of specific information about IC. However, the findings emphasise that Spanish universities' website and social media content are still in their infancy. Specifically, this study found that the quality of disclosed information on IC in public universities' websites is of low level, particularly with regard to the disclosure of relational capital. The study found that the information provided by Spanish public universities via social media mainly concerns the structural and relational capital. Likewise, the results of this paper evidence that the larger and more internationally focused universities reveal more online information on IC. Practical implications: The results of the research may be beneficial for managers of higher education institutions as a basis for developing adequate strategies addressing IC disclosure through the websites. In order to satisfy the information needs of university stakeholders, Spanish universities can be recommended to focus on reporting higher-quality information on financial relations, students' satisfaction, quality standard, work-related knowledge/know-how and collaboration between universities and other organisations such as firms, local government and society as a whole. Originality/value: This study explores two innovative tools to provide IC disclosure in the higher education institutions context, namely, websites and social media, whereas previous studies focused on traditional tools as annual report. Likewise, this study considers the quality of this information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Intellectual capital (IC) has been shown to play a crucial role in promoting competitive success among cooperatives as well as in other types of organizations. However, cooperatives are rarely included in this line of research. This paper aims to analyze how IC in agrifood cooperatives influences their prominence by fostering responsible research and innovation (RRI), reputation and performance. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical model was developed based on a literature review, and a quantitative study was conducted, including a representative sample of the current most prominent Spanish agrifood cooperatives. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the validity of constructs, path relationships and recent advances in the predictive model assessment. Findings: This study's findings show the specific role of human capital (HC) for enhancing social and structural capital in cooperatives. It was concluded that there is a need to revise and reconsider the role-played by IC in the cooperative movement. Research limitations/implications: The main practical contribution is to offer a specific vision of IC for agrifood cooperatives in order to maximize their market prominence. Since the study was conducted in Spain and based on a cross-sectional research approach, even though the new methodological tool partial least squares (PLS) predict was used, the authors cannot affirm whether IC will have the long-term expected effects as assumed in this research and in all contexts of the agrifood industry. Originality/value: This is the first empirical study that has examined IC in agrifood cooperatives in Spain, with attention focused on the role of HC as a predictor of market success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper investigates the impact of green technological distance (GTD) – environmental technological knowledge distance between the firm and the industry – on the adoption of proactive and reactive environmental strategies and whether this relationship is moderated by different manifestations of green structural capital, i.e. environmental incentives, senior environmental responsibilities and external environmental communication. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical analysis is conducted on a sample of 202 manufacturing companies from Spain. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the moderating effect of green structural capital. Findings: Results show that the role of green structural capital as guiding factor of the environmental response of the firm and organizational support to cope with the GTD between the firm and the industry is diverse and depends on the manifestation of green structural capital under analysis. The establishment of environmental incentives for managers and the presence of environmental information in the firm's external communications – as two expressions of green structural capital – show a different behavior when facing the environmental technological challenge, supporting environmental reactive and proactive strategies respectively. In addition, GTD increases the adoption of reactive environmental strategies, while it has no direct effect on the implementation of proactive environmental practices. Originality/value: Using the novel construct of GTD and the analysis of a so far unstudied interaction, the study contributes to the literature on intellectual capital and environmental strategy considering the technical change associated to the environmental challenge. In so doing, it improves the understanding of the role of green structural capital as a guiding factor of the environmental response of the firm and organizational support to cope with the GTD between the firm and the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – People live and work in a world where they do not have complete knowledge and, as a result, they make use of rumours, beliefs and assumptions about relevant areas of concern. The term counter-knowledge has been used to refer to knowledge created from unverified sources. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between counter-knowledge and human capital (HC) as well as investigating interactions between absorptive capacity (ACAP) and HC. Design/methodology/approach – A model is tested to examine the relationship between counter-knowledge, HC and the financial performance of 112 companies listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange. Findings – The results are calculated using structural equation modelling. This leads to the main conclusion that while the increasing presence of counter-knowledge leads to a reduction of ACAP and, by extension with HC. However, in the context of the sample, HC has positive effects on firms’ performance. Therefore, consideration must be given to the evaluation of the real cost of counter-knowledge or inappropriate assumptions on HC. Practical implications – The key managerial implication of this paper is that management should actively develop an organizational culture which questions the source of any knowledge and favours evidence-based reasoning over reasoning based on “gut instinct”, what has worked in the past and reasoning based on rumours and gossip. Originality/value – This paper provides empirical support for the argument that the all so-called “knowledge” generated from the sharing of unverified news is not necessarily good knowledge. Rumours or gossip shared thanks to unverified sources are some examples that illustrate people possibility to create inappropriate or false beliefs via unsupported explanations and justifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a model for recognition and measurement of intellectual capital (IC) in Spanish universities. Design/methodology/approach - In this study the authors developed a questionnaire which was sent to members of the social councils of Spanish public universities in order to identify which intangible elements university stakeholders demand most. The study results served as a basis to develop a model of IC measurement for Spanish universities. Findings -The results of the empirical study are used to identify which intangible elements need to be measured and to define a battery of indicators. Practical implications - This paper aims to provide a set of IC indicators to help universities on the path to presenting useful information to their stakeholders, contributing to a greater transparency, accountability and comparability in the higher education sector. Originality/value - Although the scientific and professional literature has provided numerous proposals for measuring and reporting a firm's IC, further research is still needed since there are few empirically supported models for the measurement and reporting of IC in universities. This need is especially relevant when considering empirical supported IC models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aims of this paper are to identify and classify the knowledge resources that shape intellectual capital (IC) within the marketing function, to develop and validate a related scale and to demonstrate the scale's applicability in an empirical context. Design/methodology/approach: A literature-based approach was adopted to identify and classify knowledge assets in the field of marketing. The new scale's content was then tested in a number of companies with different profiles. A subsequent survey of a representative sample of 346 Spanish firms sought to validate the scale and to assess those companies' marketing-related IC. Findings: The literature search provided the basis for a marketing-related IC architecture comprising three main categories, nine subcategories and eighty items whose validity was tested and confirmed. The survey revealed that marketing-specific human capital (HC) is the most developed knowledge resource in Spanish firms, followed by marketing-specific relational capital (RC), while marketing-specific structural capital (SC) is the least developed. Significant differences were also found among companies with different profiles (B2C vs B2B, high-tech vs low-tech and manufacturing vs services). Originality/value: This study makes a valuable contribution to the IC literature as one of the first to deploy the general IC framework in a specific functional area (here: marketing and sales) for more meaningful and in-depth assessment of firm-specific knowledge resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide assistance to public organizations in the process of developing their ability to identify, measure and manage their intangible assets. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the most important intellectual capital management initiatives at Spanish public organizations is realized. Findings – The paper shows the importance of intellectual capital approaches as instruments to face the new challenges in public sector. The experience gained from the case studies provides a practical help to public organizations to develop means to identify, measure and manage their intangible assets. Practical implications – The study provides a basis to understand how Spanish public organizations are measuring and managing their intellectual capital. In this sense, the first step would be the definition and diffusion of the organization's strategic objectives. Then, critical intangibles related to these objectives should be identified. Afterwards, a set of indicators is defined and developed for each intangible. Originality/value – Public managers work with intangible concepts, although there is not always a methodology available that systematizes their identification, measurement and presentation. To deal with this problem, it is considered fundamental to know which initiatives have been carried out in Spain in relation to models of intellectual capital management for public organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide assistance to universities in the process of developing their ability to identify, measure, manage and value their intangible assets. Design/methodology/approach - The paper takes the form of a review of the most important intellectual capital management initiatives at Spanish public universities. Findings - The experience gained from the case studies provides a basis for understanding how Spanish universities are measuring and managing their intellectual capital. Research limitations/implications - Despite its importance, intellectual capital at universities is scarcely dealt with in a specific manner. Up to now, only a few universities have taken the challenge of trying to measure, manage and report on intangible assets. Practical implications - This study offers a perspective on how Spanish universities deal with their intellectual capital. In this sense, the first step would be the definition and diffusion of the organisation's strategic objectives. Then, critical intangibles related to these objectives should be identified and the causal network of relationships among them should be established. Afterwards, a set of indicators is defined and developed for each intangible. Originality/value - This paper shows the importance of intellectual capital approaches as instruments to face the new challenges in Spanish universities. It offers practical help to universities to develop means to identify, measure, manage and value their intangible assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to demonstrate the need for universities to include information on intellectual capital in their accounting information system. Design/methodology/approach - An empirical study was conducted to discover the extent to which the different users of university accounting information are now demanding information concerning intellectual capital in order to make the right decisions. To this end a questionnaire was designed and sent to all the members of the Social Councils of Spain's public universities. Findings - The findings show the opinion of university accounting information users regarding the need for universities to publish information on their intellectual capital in order to make the current model of university accounting information more relevant. Practical implications - The results of this research show the intangible elements about which universities should provide information in order to satisfy their users' new information demands. Originality/value - No previous research in this area has been conducted for Spanish universities. This paper brings new expertise regarding the traditional information supplied by universities, which needs to be extended to include information on intellectual capital. Giving users access to a type of information that is relevant for good decision-making constitutes a healthy exercise in transparency for universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and to explain the influence of representative variables of human capital and structural capital on the creation of business value. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory analysis was initially performed on the degree to which firms actually used human and structural capital indicators, through a survey sent out to Spanish firms with a staff of 25 employees or more. Subsequently, by means of an explanatory analysis, the relationship was studied between the use made of the aforementioned indicators and a set of variables selected as representative of value creation. The information on value creation was taken from the Sistema de Análisis de Balances Ibéricos (SABI-AMADEUS) database. Moreover, in an attempt to corroborate the results of this explanatory analysis, a further independent variable was simultaneously introduced taken from the financial statements held on the same database and applied to the same sample of firms; known as the value added intellectual coefficient (VAIC), it analyses value creation efficiency. Findings – The explanatory analysis of multiple lineal correlations and regressions allows us to confirm the positive relation that exists between the use of human and structural capital indicators, and value creation measured by sales growth. Simultaneously, higher levels of the VAIC, in particular for the component that refers to the sum of the coefficient of human capital and structural capital, are also related to improvements in competitiveness reflected through an increase in sales figures. Research limitations/implications – Despite having identified a relation between intellectual capital and value creation, the study finds no evidence of a significant relationship between the use of human capital and structural capital indicators and dependent variables other than sales growth, such as return on assets (ROA) or productivity. The authors would have preferred to have obtained information from a larger number of firms, which would perhaps have contributed to finding new significant relations. This limitation suggests that further research is needed, such as carrying out large-scale longitudinal studies using panel data analysis. Originality/value – This analysis has a dual perspective based on observations taken from a survey and economic-financial analysis. It is a novel study in the Spanish context given that the analysis of aspects related to intellectual capital have on numerous occasions centred on large and/or quoted firms in that country, solely using information taken from secondary sources (databases). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Organizational knowledge assets are key organizational factors responsible for firm innovation, as well as effective management. Traditionally, a good piece of research takes the innovation processes from an external perspective, leaving aside the internal complexity that characterizes innovation dynamics. Nevertheless, the innovation capability of a certain firm depends very closely on the intellectual assets and organizational knowledge that it possesses, as well as on its ability to deploy them. In this sense, this paper aims to test empirically the relationships between organizational knowledge assets and the innovation capability of the firm. Design/methodology/approach - The data collection was carried out through a questionnaire on a sample of 251 Spanish high and medium-high manufacturing firms. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and multiple linear regressions were also used. Findings - Based on the literature review, this work explores the nature and measurement of organizational capital as well as its role on innovation performance in high and medium-high manufacturing firms. Practical implications - This paper proposes a theoretical and empirical model of technological innovation that, based on organizational knowledge assets, highlights the importance of culture and CEO commitment towards innovation, as well as the role played by communication and information technologies (CITs) applied to management on product innovation capability within high and medium-high manufacturing firms. Originality/value - The scarcity of empirical works analyzing the innovation phenomena from an internal point of view adds value to the current academic literature, specifically from an intellectual capital-based view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The literature shows several intellectual capital models. Nevertheless, there is little empirical evidence about the building blocks that form intellectual capital in practice. The purpose of this paper is to test the widespread categorization of human capital, structural capital, and relational capital with a survey applied to high-technology firms from Spain. Design/methodology/approach - Factor analysis was conducted with a sample of 49 firms (larger than 50 employees). Findings - The results indeed demonstrate the existence of three main components of intellectual capital that, in general, fit the dominant structure proposed by other authors. Research limitations/implications - Before moving into an internationally accepted system for classification and measurement of intellectual capital, future research should seek a geographical and industrial agreement about the main components of this construct. In that direction, our empirical evidence provides only the experience of Spanish high-tech firms; this experience could be different in other countries or industries. Practical implications - In this paper, managers interested in the field can find a useful guidance for structuring an intellectual capital balance sheet, taking the three proposed components as main dimensions, and the items of the survey as a measurement tool for analyzing the intellectual strengths and weaknesses of their firms. Originality/value - Academics can also benefit from this research, taking it as a basis for replication studies about intellectual capital in other countries and/or industries. This article presents one of the first empirical tests of the theoretically accepted components of intellectual capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of legal protection mechanisms to sustain competitive advantage and appropriate technological intellectual capital, taking into account its degree of complexity. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical analysis was conducted on a sample of Spanish biotechnology firms, devoted to human and animal health, having a specific department for carrying on R&D activities from 2001 to 2003. The hypotheses were tested by non-parametric techniques after collecting data by sending a questionnaire as the primary source of information. Findings - The results show that the higher the complexity of technological knowledge, the greater the protection of intellectual capital against imitation. In addition, it is proven that legal protection is an effective means of protection against imitation only when technological knowledge has a low degree of complexity. Research limitations/implications - Within the resource-based view context, our results provide new empirical evidence about the great impact of the complexity of technological intellectual capital on evaluating the effectiveness of legal protection mechanisms and sustaining competitive advantage. Originality/value - This research is of great value for strategic technological decision-making. Although several studies present the theoretical conditions that explain how firms can create imitation "barriers", the empirical evidence found is very scarce and controversial, especially for the Spanish biotechnology industry. The results obtained here offer new empirical evidence on the resource-based view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]