Intellectual capital as a predictor of cooperative prominence through human capital in the Spanish agrifood industry

PurposeIntellectual capital (IC) has been shown to play a crucial role in promoting competitive success among cooperatives as well as in other types of organizations. However, cooperatives are rarely included in this line of research. This paper aims to analyze how IC in agrifood cooperatives influe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of intellectual capital 2021-10, Vol.22 (6), p.1126-1146
Main Authors: Sánchez-Hernández, M. Isabel, Castilla-Polo, Francisca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business competition
Competition
Cooperatives
Empirical analysis
Ethics
Food security
Human capital
Hypotheses
Innovations
Intellectual capital
Literature reviews
Market positioning
Multivariate statistical analysis
Prediction models
Prominences
R&D
Reputations
Research & development
Success
Sustainable development
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Summary:PurposeIntellectual capital (IC) has been shown to play a crucial role in promoting competitive success among cooperatives as well as in other types of organizations. However, cooperatives are rarely included in this line of research. This paper aims to analyze how IC in agrifood cooperatives influences their prominence by fostering responsible research and innovation (RRI), reputation and performance.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model was developed based on a literature review, and a quantitative study was conducted, including a representative sample of the current most prominent Spanish agrifood cooperatives. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the validity of constructs, path relationships and recent advances in the predictive model assessment.FindingsThis study’s findings show the specific role of human capital (HC) for enhancing social and structural capital in cooperatives. It was concluded that there is a need to revise and reconsider the role-played by IC in the cooperative movement.Research limitations/implicationsThe main practical contribution is to offer a specific vision of IC for agrifood cooperatives in order to maximize their market prominence. Since the study was conducted in Spain and based on a cross-sectional research approach, even though the new methodological tool partial least squares (PLS) predict was used, the authors cannot affirm whether IC will have the long-term expected effects as assumed in this research and in all contexts of the agrifood industry.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study that has examined IC in agrifood cooperatives in Spain, with attention focused on the role of HC as a predictor of market success.
ISSN:1469-1930
1758-7468
DOI:10.1108/JIC-06-2020-0201