Human, External Capitals and Organizational Performance in Nigeria: Do They Matter for Telecommunication Companies?

Abstract

There is dearth of studies on the combined effects of both human and external capitals on the performance of telecommunication companies in Nigeria. Notably, the few studies on human and external capitals have employed primary data without due attentiveness on whether human and external capitals can be measured using secondary data. Consequently, this study employs a dissimilar model of measurement in assessing how human capital (measured as the revenue minus cost of revenue divided by staff cost) and external capital (cost incurred in improving social networks, trademarks, brand values, license agreements, and customer loyalty) affect telecommunication companies’ performance (market share – Tobin’s Q). Data were gathered from five (5) publicly quoted telecommunication companies on the Nigerian Exchange Group from 2014-2021. Fixed and random effect regression were used in analysing the data and the Wald statistics revealed that telecommunication companies’ performance are influenced by human and external capitals.This result implies that human and external capitals matter for telecommunication companies’ performance. The findings call for stern policy recommendations for telecommunication companies’ management, regulatory framework of telecommunication industry, and management researchers alike.