The impact of intellectual capital on firms' market value and financial performance

Purpose – Intellectual capital (IC) shows a significant growing acceptance as a worthy topic of academic investigation and practical implication. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of IC on firms' market value and financial performance. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data were drawn from a panel consisting of 96 Greek companies listed in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), from four different economic sectors, observed over the three‐year period of 2006 to 2008. Various regression models were examined in order to test the hypotheses included in the proposed conceptual framework. Findings – Results failed to support most of the hypotheses; only concluding that there is a statistically significant relationship between human capital efficiency and financial performance. Despite the fact that IC is increasingly recognised as an important strategic asset for sustainable corporate competitive advantage, the results of the present study give rise to various arguments, criticism and further research on the subject. Research limitations/implications – The lack of available data for the appropriate analysis, the investigation of four sectors of economic activity and the relatively narrow three‐year period for data collection are the main limitations of the present study. Practical implications – Results proved that, in the Greek business context, the development of human resources seems to be one of the most significant factors of economic success. Focusing on human capital should, therefore, be at the centre of the companies' attention. Originality/value – The present study combines previous methodologies in order to investigate certain causal relationships considering the IC of Greek listed companies. The value of the paper is the empirical investigation of these relationships in the context of the Greek economy and the enrichment of the literature with another paper that follows the value‐added intellectual coefficient methodology for the measurement of IC.