The position of intellectual capital among Saudi banks

Abstract

All intangible assets and various human-centred and the intellectual property rights (IPR) of organizations are considered as Intellectual Capital (IC). It includes all nonmonetary and nonphysical resources that are fully or partially controlled by the organization and contribute to the organization`s value creation. Since conventional factors of production are increasingly being replaced by intellectual assets, IC is now being increasingly recognized as the most valuable resource, which can provide the required impetus to take on the competition. Through appropriate management of IC, it is possible to enhance the earning capability, sustain the value and help the achievement of organizational goals. Organisations that manage IC would acquire the required competitive advantage and superior business performance in the current volatile and uncertain market. This study was conducted to investigate the position of IC of Saudi banks. Empirical evidence exists to suggest that efficient utilization of IC can contribute towards the success of the banking industry. Objectives of the study included finding the value of IC of the Saudi banking industry and examine the performance of Islamic banks. Two regression models were used to achieve the objectives of the study. The models examined the relationships between Return on equity (ROE) and Return on total assets (ROA) and the aggregate measure of IC. It also examined the different components like Human capital efficiency (HCE), the Capital employed efficiency (CEE), and Structural capital efficiency (SCE). The present study has thus helped in presenting some interesting findings of the IC of Saudi banks. It was observed that Saudi banks are fairly efficient and has generated the required value from the component of Human capital (HC) than other capital elements. Drastic improvement was evident during recent years, reflecting the cues about the stability evident globally in the industry. Overall it can be concluded that Saudi banks, especially the Shariah-compliant ones, are efficient in generating value from its IC. A comparison between Saudi banks, as well as Islamic banks and those in other countries where banking operations are not done as per Shari’ah rules, is suggested as it is sure to bring in interesting results. Keywords: intellectual capital, structural capital, banking industry, Saudi Arabia.