Title: Towards a qualitative understanding of intellectual capital in Ethiopian small and medium enterprises

Authors: Cherinet Boke Chakiso

Addresses: College of Business and Economics, Wachemo University, SNNPR, Ethiopia

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to study the intellectual capital resources possessed by small and medium enterprises and presents how those resources are acquired, utilised, and exploited by them. A total of 30 enterprises were purposively selected among fast growing SMEs in Ethiopia and analysed using multiple case study design. Attempts were made to represent both small and medium enterprises despite impossibility of sharp classification between them. The results of the analysis show that three main categories identified namely human capital, social capital, and structural capital are influencing the performance of SMEs in Ethiopia. At the same time, the acquisition and leveraging of human, social, and structural capital integrate each other to develop outcomes. This study fills the gap of scant attention given to SMEs acquisition, management, and exploitation of IC resources which is under-researched particularly in African context.

Keywords: intellectual capital; human capital; social capital; structural capital; performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLIC.2023.133229

International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, 2023 Vol.20 No.5, pp.513 - 537

Received: 30 Dec 2021
Accepted: 08 Feb 2023
Published online: 01 Sep 2023 *

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