The Effect of Intellectual Capital on Jordanian Tourism Sector's Business Performance

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the influence of Intellectual Capital (IC) on Jordanian Tourism (JT) organizations’ Business Performance (BP). To approach the aim of the study, practical data were used in the empirical analysis collected from 205 managers (organizations) out of 490 managers (organizations), by means of a questionnaire. Statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA test, correlation, multiple regressions and stepwise regression were employed. To confirm the suitability of data collection instrument, a Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Cronbach’s Alpha and Factor Analysis were used. The results of the study indicated a positive significant relationship between IC and JT organizations’ BP. However, the RC indicators were the most important indicators to distinguish the organizations from one another, followed by HC, while still they have a lot of work to improve SC. The empirical analysis showed that only RC and HC affect JT organizations' BP, while SC did not show any significant effect on JT organizations' BP. Furthermore, empirical results indicated that there are strong inter-relationships and interactions among the three components of IC with each others. The use of a single industry study design limits its generalisability to other industries. The data is also limited to Jordanian organizations; therefore, generalizing results of a Jordanian setting to other countries may be questionable. Extending the analyses to other settings represent future research opportunities. The data suggest that a similar set of IC indicators could be developed for other organizations and industries whether government, public or private, profitable or non-profitable organizations.