INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL AND FIRM PERFORMANCE WITHIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY DURING THE NEW NORMAL ERA

Abstract

In the post COVID-2019 era, companies are making a variety of changes to boost their performance. Companies need to understand that rivalry is for physical and intangible assets, such as intellectual capital, when they want to thrive and succeed in the market. Research on the relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance has become a study that has received wide attention from researchers from various disciplines. The purpose of this research was to analyze how intellectual capital, comprising human, structural and relational capital, affected firm performance in the telecommunications sector during post COVID-2019 era. Quantitative research using a questionnaire survey was used in this study. A valid research instrument was utilized to survey 115 employees from all telecommunications companies in Indonesia listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2019–2021. Human, structural, and relational capital were hypothesized to have a positive effect on company performance, and their relationship was investigated. Intellectual capital was found to have a statistically significant and positively impacting relationship with firm performance. Recommendations are then made for researchers and practitioners. This research has implications for practitioners. Practitioners can concentrate efforts on the three main components of intellectual capital management. Furthermore, managers in companies, especially telecommunications companies, understand how intellectual resources evolve following current developments and will ultimately positively impact performance. This is one of the very few studies examining the relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance in the Indonesian telecommunications industry and the first to investigate this relationship with perceptual measures in Indonesia.