Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Sharing, and Innovation Performance: Evidence from the Chinese Construction Industry

Yongfu Li,Jinxin Wang,Chengwei Li,Yu Song

doi:10.3390/su11092713

Yongfu Li, Jinxin Wang + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092713

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Abstract

Knowledge economy era is an era driven by innovation, mainly based on the input of intangible assets which plays decisive roles in the long-term development of enterprises. The product value of enterprises is largely determined by their intellectual capital. Therefore, as pillars of China’s economy, construction enterprises must strengthen their investments in intellectual capital, and to achieve competitiveness in the market, enterprises must share knowledge with the other members of their networks. This study explores the relationship among the intellectual capital, knowledge sharing, and innovation performance of construction enterprises and the mediating effect of knowledge sharing on the relationship between intellectual capital and innovation performance by using data collected from a questionnaire survey. These data are analyzed along with the aforementioned relationships by using SPSS and a structural equation model. The findings indicate that intellectual capital not only has a direct positive influence on the innovation performance of construction enterprises but also positively affects their innovation performance through knowledge sharing. This paper concludes by presenting its limitations and the implications of its findings.

Highlights

In the knowledge economy era, industries have gradually transformed from labor intensive to knowledge intensive [1]
Given the lack of information about the intellectual capital, knowledge sharing, and innovation performance of construction enterprises, this paper examines the role of intellectual capital in innovation performance of construction enterprises and investigates the role of knowledge sharing as a possible intervening mechanism that mediates the relationship between intellectual capital and innovation performance
The main purpose of this study is to examine the role of intellectual capital in promoting the innovation performance of construction enterprises and the role of knowledge sharing as a possible intervening mechanism that mediates the relationship between intellectual capital and innovation performance

Summary

Introduction

In the knowledge economy era, industries have gradually transformed from labor intensive to knowledge intensive [1]. To this end, enterprises have increasingly depended on intangible assets, including knowledge, corporate culture, human creativity, and innovation, to create value [2]. Innovation plays an indispensable role in gaining and sustaining the competitive advantage of enterprises, including construction enterprises [3,4,5]. As pillars of China’s economy, construction enterprises increase their competitiveness in the market by concentrating on their innovation efforts [9] and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors by properly orientating their innovation processes [10]

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