Intellectual capital in East and West African social enterprises

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to identify the main factors of knowledge assets (i.e., human, relational and structural capital) that affect the value creation process of social enterprises located in East and West Africa. Design A survey was administered to a sample of social enterprises located in developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Ghana. The survey was designed to gather background information about social enterprises, social entrepreneurs as well as data pertaining to intellectual capital. Therefore, descriptive statistical analysis, principal component analysis and Pearson correlations were employed to identify the main components of IC for African SEs and the inter‐relationship among intellectual capital components. Findings Research findings confirmed that human capital (i.e., a social entrepreneur's knowledge), relational capital (i.e., local and global relationship quality) and structural capital (i.e., long‐term and up‐to‐date firm knowledge) were validated as important resources for African SEs in the value creation process. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that human capital and relational capital were positively correlated; whereas structural capital was positively correlated with the local and global relationship's quality and with the social entrepreneur's skills. Limitations The main limitations concern the heterogeneity and the restricted sample size due to challenges in the data gathering process. Moreover, the results could potentially be influenced by the context and the low response rate. However, this study can represent a starting point for future research in this unique but important research setting. Originality This study can be considered original for several reasons. First, empirical evidence on knowledge assets in developing countries in Africa is still scarce, despite the potential of being a new frontier for intellectual capital studies and social and economic growth. Second, the use of a survey method as an IC measurement tool in this context is unique. Finally, this study helps in providing a platform for further investigation in Africa.

Local relationships matter! The impact of intellectual capital on entrepreneurial bricolage in African social entrepreneurs

“…In particular, the results of this empirical study reveal that the quality of local relationships and external support received are positively related and statistically significant with entrepreneurial bricolage. These results highlight the vital role played by relational capital in the two main components (Sgrò et al, 2020) important contributions to literature of social entrepreneurship and bricolage.…”

“…African social enterprises, as hybrid organizations, face a considerable challenge when it comes to accessing resources (Ciambotti & Pedrini, 2021). Highlighting a recently published study by Sgrò et al (2020), relational capital was comprised of two important aspects: the quality of local and global relationships. In particular, the quality of local relationships that an entrepreneur can establish with the community was shown to be of significant importance.…”

“…Recent studies have shown that intellectual capital can be assessed in the resource-constraint context of African countries (Sgrò, Ciambotti, Bontis, & Ayiku, 2020). Generally speaking, Africa remains a novel research setting for management research, but there is evidence that several countries on the continent are characterized by strong social ties (Ciambotti et al, 2020;Holt & Littlewood, 2017;Zoogah, Peng, & Woldu, 2015) and social entrepreneurship (Desa & Basu, 2013;Manning, Kannothra, & Wissman-Weber, 2017;Servantie & Rispal, 2018).…”

The Relationship Between Intellectual Capital and Performance of Social Enterprises: A Literature Review

“…Since 2011, the number of publications in intellectual capital has significantly increased due to the changing economic climate. Most businesses are currently seeking to grow their efficiency and productivity levels by applying and manipulating intangible knowledge (Sgrò et al, 2020).…”

Intellectual capital and the coronavirus crisis: taking a closer look at restaurants’ strategies

“…Social enterprises intellectual capital (Sgrò et al, 2020) • It takes into consideration the three main components of IC, namely: human, relational, and structural capital, and each of them has two critical sub-domains.…”