Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T18:56:23.052Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Linking National Contexts with Intellectual Capital: A Comparison between Spain and Morocco

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro  and
Maria Teresa Sánchez-Polo
Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro
Affiliation:
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (Spain)
Maria Teresa Sánchez-Polo*
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario “Virgen de la Arrixaca” (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to María Teresa Sánchez Polo. Hospital Universitario “Virgen de la Arrixaca”. Carretera Madrid-Cartagena, s/n. El Palmar. Murcia. (Spain). Phone: +34-968369500. Fax: +34-968369776. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The ‘national environment’, which includes belief and value systems, shapes the way individuals, groups and organisations perceive the world around them and determines how they react to ongoing changes. This paper analyses the role of different context's effects on intellectual capital by means of an empirical investigation of 112 Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Spanish and Moroccan telecommunication industries. Within the investigation, repeated ANOVA were used, which were validated by factor analysis. Results support that Spanish SMEs are more positively associated with higher levels of human, structural and relational capital. The meaningful differences are clearly found in the ‘structural capital’. Our findings open avenues for further research to explore how governments can facilitate learning and unlearning environments in SME communities. These findings have important implications for general intellectual capital theories, as they suggest that there is no guarantee that intellectual capital theories developed within the cultural context of one particular country can be applied in another with good effect. National contexts provide the environment for learning, which in turn may have the effect of adequately improving intellectual capital.

El ambiente nacional, el cual incluye las creencias y los sistemas de valores compartidos, influye de una forma clara y directa cómo las personas, los grupos y las organizaciones perciben el mundo alrededor de ellos, y determina cómo afrontan a los cambios a los que tienen que hacer frente. Este trabajo analiza el papel que los diferentes contextos nacionales ejercen sobre la creación de capital intelectual, mediante un trabajo empírico de 112 pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) del sector de las telecomunicaciones en España y Marruecos. Para ello, hemos utilizado la técnica estadística de medias repetidas apoyada con un análisis factorial confirmatorio. Los resultados sugieren que las empresas españolas se encuentran asociadas a niveles mayores de capital humano, estructural y relacional. Las mayores diferencias se encuentran en el capital estructural. Circunstancias estas que ponen en riesgo la validez de generalizar los resultados obtenidos por la nueva corriente desarrollada entorno al capital intelectual en diferentes contextos culturales. Además, dado que los resultados apoyan que el contexto nacional proporciona el ambiente necesario para aprender, y este a su vez se asocia a la creación de capital intelectual, el presenta trabajo plantea una futura línea de investigación que relaciona el contexto de aprendizaje y desaprendizaje impulsado desde los diferentes gobiernos y el capital intelectual de las PYMEs.

Keywords

national contextsintellectual capitalSpainMoroccoSMEscontextos nacionalescapital intelectualEspañaMarruecosPYMEs
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , May 2010 , pp. 329 - 342
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achy, L. (2004). SME Performance in the Moroccan Manufacturing Sector: An Empirical investigation from Micro level data. Paper presented at Fifth Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting, Florence (24–28 March 2004).Google Scholar
Amat, J. M., Carmona, S.& Roberts, H. (1994). Context and Change in MAS: a Spanish Case Study. Management Accounting Research, 5, 107–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, J. C.& Gerbing, D. W. (1988). An updated paradigm for scale development incorporating unidimensionality and its assessment. Journal of Marketing Research, 25, 186–192.Google Scholar
Armstrong, J. S.& Overton, T. S. (1977). Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys. Journal of Marketing Research, 14, 396–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bagozzi, R. P.& Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16 (1), 74–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Barrett, P. T.& Kline, P. (1981). The observation to variable ratio in factor analysis. Personality study and group behavior, 1, 23–33.Google Scholar
Barsoux, J.& Lawrence, P. (1990). Management in France, London: Cassell.Google Scholar
Bartlett, C. A. & Ghoshal, (1989). Managing across Borders: The Transnational Solution. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Baskerville-Morley, R. F. (2005). A research note: the unfinished business of culture. Accounting. Organizations and Society, 30(4), 389–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birley, S. (1985). The role of networks in the entrepreneurial process. Journal of Business Venturing, 1(2), 107–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, H., Calori, R.& De Woot, P. (1994). Euromanagement, London: Kogan Page.Google Scholar
Bolton, J. (1971). Report on the Committee of Inquiry on Small Firms (Bolton Report), Cmnd. 4811, London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Bontis, N. (1998). Intellectual capital: an exploratory study that develops measures and models. Management Decision, 36(2), 63–76.Google Scholar
Bontis, N. (2004). National Intellectual Capital Index. The Benchmarking of Arab Countries. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 5(1), 13–39.Google Scholar
Bontis, N., Chua-Chong, K.& Stanley, R. (2000). Intellectual capital and business performance in Malaysian industries. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 1(1), 85–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bontis, N., Crossan, M.& Hulland, J. (2002). Managing an Organizational Learning System by Aligning Stocks and Flows. Journal of Management Studies, 39(4), 437–469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouty, I. (2000). Interpersonal and interaction influences on informal resource exchanges between R&D researchers across organisational boundaries. Academy of Management Journal, 43(1), 50–65.Google Scholar
Campbell, D. T. (1955). The Informant in Quantitative Research. American Journal of Sociology, 60, 339–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carson, D., Cromie, S., McGowan, P.& Hill, J. (1995). Marketing and Entrepreneurship in SMEs. An Innovative Approach. London: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Cegarra, J. G.& Sabater, R. (2005). Technological Strategies: Influences of Exploration and Exploitation on Relational Capital. International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 1(2), 99–114.Google Scholar
Chaminade, C.& Johanson, U. (2003). Can guidelines for Intellectual Capital management and reporting be considered without addressing cultural differences? Journal of Intellectual Capital, 4 (4), 528–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandler, T. A., Shama, D. D., Wolf, F. M.& Planchard, S. K. (1981). Multi attributional Causality: A Five Cross-National Samples Study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 12(2), 207–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, A.& Tseng, C. (2005). Building customer capital through relationship marketing activities: The case of Taiwanese multilevel marketing companies. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 6(2), 253–266.Google Scholar
Duffy, J. (2000). Measuring customer capital, Strategy & Leadership, 28(5), 10–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edvinsson, L.& Malone, M. (1997). Intellectual capital: realizing your company's true value by finding its hidden brainpower, New York: Harper Collins.
El–Mandjra, M. (2001). Dialog of Intercommunication: Towards a Just Information Society. Casablanca: Al–Najah Al–Jadida.Google Scholar
El–Yahyaoui, Y. (1995). Les Télécommunications à L'Épreuve des Mutations: Etat, Monopole, Déréglementation et Concurrence. Ratat: Okad.Google Scholar
European Commission (2003) SME definition: Commission Recommendation of 06 May 2003. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, Report L124/39, pp. 36. Available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/sme_definition/index_en.htmGoogle Scholar
Evans, P. & Rauch, J. (1997). Bureaucratic Structure and Economic Performance: Codebook 6/23/97, available at: http://weber.ucsd.edu/jrauch/webstate/website.out, accessed March 19, 2003.Google Scholar
Fornell, C.& Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 27, 39–50.Google Scholar
Gilmore, A.& Carson, D. (1999). Entrepreneurial marketing by networking. New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, 12(2), 31–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gooderham, P. N.& Nordhaug, O. (2002). The decline of cultural differences in Europe. European Banking Federation (EBF) 8, 48–53.Google Scholar
Gorusch, R. L. (1983). Factor Analysis (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Gray, S. J. (1995). Cultural perspectives on the measurement of corporate success. European Management Journal, 13(3), 269–75.Google Scholar
Hair, J. F. J., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L.& Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate Data Analysis, 5th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Hallinger, P.& Kantamara, P. (2001). Learning to lead global changes in local cultures. Journal of Educational Administration, 39(3), 197–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hampden-Turner, C.& Trompenaars, F. (1994). The Seven Cultures of Capitalism, London: Piatkus.Google Scholar
Harrison, G. L. (1993). Reliance on accounting performance measures in superior evaluative style – the influence of national culture. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 18, 319–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, G. L., Chow, C., Wu, A.& Harrel, S. (1999). A cross-cultural investigation of managers' project evaluation decisions. Behavioural Research in Accounting, 11, 143–60.Google Scholar
Hatcher, L. (1994). A Step-by-Step Approach to Using the SAS® System for Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling. Cary, N.C.: SAS Institutte, Inc.Google Scholar
Hendry, J.& Hope, V. (1994). Cultural change and competitive performance. European Management Journal, 12(4), 401–6.Google Scholar
Hervas-Oliver, J. L.& Dalmau-Porta, J. I. (2006). How to measure IC in clusters: empirical evidence. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 7(3), 354–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values, London: Sage.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1985). The interaction between national and organizational value systems. Journal of Management Studies, 23, 347–57.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, London: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (2004). Cultural Dimensions, available at: http://www.geert-hofstede.com/Google Scholar
Hudson, W. (1993). Intellectual Capital: How to Build it, Enhance it, Use it, New York, NY: John Wiley.Google Scholar
International Accounting Standards Board. (2004). Intangible Assets, International Accounting Standards No. 38 revised, London: IASB.Google Scholar
Johannisson, B., Alexanderson, O., Nowicki, K.& Senneseth, K. (1994). Beyond Anarchy and Organization: Entrepreneur in Context. 428–469 In: Veciana, Jose M. (ed. 1994). SMEs Internationalisation, Networks and Strategy. Aldershot: Avebury.Google Scholar
Jöreskog, K.& Sörbom, D. (2001). LISREL 8.50. Chicago, IL: Scientific Software.Google Scholar
Kabanoff, B., Waldersee, R.& Cohen, M. (1995). Espoused values and organizational change themes. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 1075–1104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kay, J. (1993). Foundations of Corporate Success, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Klein, K.& Sorra, J. (1996). The Challenge on innovation implementation. Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 1055–1080.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kreacic, V.& Marsh, P. (1986). Organisation Development and National Culture in Four Countries. Public Enterprise, 6, 121–34.Google Scholar
Kumar, N., Stern, L. W., & Anderson, J. C. (1993). Conducting interorganizational research using key informants. Academy of Management Journal, 36(6), 1633–1651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lessem, R.& Neubauer, F. (1994). European Management Systems, London: McGraw-HillGoogle Scholar
Long, D.& Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management. Academy of Management Executive, 14(4), 113–27.Google Scholar
Lubatkin, M., Calori, R., Very, P.& Veiga, J. (1998). Managing mergers across borders: a two nation exploration of national bound administrative heritage. Organization Science, 9(6), 670–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lundberg, C. (1996). Designing organizational culture courses: Fundamental considerations. Journal of Management Education, 20, 11–22.Google Scholar
Lynn, B. (1999). Culture and intellectual capital management: a key factor in successful IC implementation. International Journal of Technology Management, 18(5/7), 590–603.Google Scholar
Marais, O. (1973). The Ruling Class in Morocco, in Zartman, I. (Ed.) Man, State and Society in the Contemporary Maghreb, (pp. 181–200). London: Pall Mall.Google Scholar
Markus, H. R.& Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marr, B.& Chatzkel, J. (2004). Intellectual capital at the crossroads: managing, measuring, and reporting of IC. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 5(4), 224–9.Google Scholar
Martínez-Torres, M. R. (2006). A Procedure to Design a Structural and Measurement Model of Intellectual Capital: an Exploratory Study. Information and Management, 43(5), 617–626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCourt, W.& Ramgutty-Wong, A. (2003). Limits to Strategic HRM: The Case of the Mauritian Civil Service. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14, 1–19.Google Scholar
Morden, T. (1995). International culture and management. Management Decision 33(2), 16–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myro (1995). Crecimiento y competitividad de la industria española in VV.AA, 1995. La economía española es un escenario abierto. Madrid: Fundación Argentaria.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005). OECD Economic Surveys of Spain. Spain: Mundi-Prensa Libros, S.A.Google Scholar
Purcell, J., Kinnie, N., Hurchinson, S., Rayton, B.& Swart, J. (2004). Vision and Values: The Big Idea, London: CIPD.Google Scholar
Roos, J., Roos, G., Dragonetti, N.& Edvinsson, L. (1998). Intellectual capital: navigating in the new business landscape. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Rouban, L. (1999). Senior Civil Servants in France, in Page, E. and Wright, V. (eds) Bureaucratic Elites in Western European States: A Comparative Analysis of Top Officials, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 65–89.Google Scholar
Schein, E. (1993). How can organizations learn faster? The challenge of entering the green room. Sloan Management Review, 34(2), 85–93.Google Scholar
Schneider, S.& De Meyer, A. (1991). Interpreting and Responding to Strategic Issues: The Impact of National Culture. Strategic Management Journal, 12, 307–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schumpeter, J. (1989). Essays on Entrepreneurs, Innovations, Business Cycles and the Evolution of Capitalism, New Brunswick, N.J, Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Skandia, (1996). Value Creating Processes, Supplement to Skandia's 1995 Annual Report.Google Scholar
Small Business Service (2004). available at: www.sbs.gov.uk/default.php?page=/statistics/default.php (accessed 20 January 2006),.Google Scholar
Smith, P. B., Dugan, S.& Trompenaars, E. (1996). National culture and the values of organizational employees: A dimensional analysis across 43 nations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27, 231–264.Google Scholar
Spector, P. E., Cooper, C. L., Sparks, K., Bernin, P., Büssing, A.& Dewe, P. (2001). An international study of the psychometric properties of the Hofstede Values Survey Module 1994: A comparison of individual and country/province level results. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50(2), 269–281.Google Scholar
Spence, L. J., Schmidpeter, R.& Habisch, A. (2003). Assessing social capital: small and medium sized enterprises in Germany and the UK. Journal of Business Ethics, 47, 17–29.Google Scholar
Stahle, P.& Hong, J. (2002). Dynamic intellectual capital in global rapidly changing industries; in global rapidly changing industries. Journal of Knowledge Management, 6(2), 177–189.Google Scholar
Stewart, T. (1998). La nueva riqueza de las organizaciones: el capital intelectual, Madrid: Editorial Granica.Google Scholar
St-Onge, H. (1996). Tacit knowledge: the key to the strategic alignment of intellectual capital. Strategy & Leadership, 24(2), 10–14.Google Scholar
Sullivan, P. H. (2000). Value-driven intellectual capital: how to convert intangible corporate assets into market value, New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Sveiby, K. E. (1997). The intangible assets monitor. Journal of Human Resource Costing and Accounting, 2(1), 73–97.Google Scholar
Swart, J. (2006). Intellectual capital: disentangling an enigmatic concept. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 7(2), 136–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, S. (1998). The cultural constraints of the learning organizations concept. Proceedings of the Academy of Management Mid-Year Conference on Organizational Learning, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Tse, D. K., Lee, K. H., Vertinsky, I.& Wehrung, D. A. (1988). Does culture matter? A cross-cultural study of executives' choice, decisiveness and risk adjustment in international marketing. Journal of Marketing, 52, 81–95.Google Scholar
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Program on Transactional Corporations. (1993). Small and Medium-sized transactional corporations: role, impact and policy implications. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Valle, R., Martín, F.& Romero, P. M. (2001). Trends and emerging values in human resource management - The Spanish scene. International Journal of Manpower, 22(3), 244–251.Google Scholar
Webster, F. E. (1988). Rediscovering the Marketing Concept. Business Horizons, 31, 29–39.Google Scholar
Wildavsky, A. (1989). Frames of reference come from cultures: a predictive theory. In Freilichs, M. (Ed.), The relevance of culture (pp. 58–74). New York: Bergin and Garvey.Google Scholar