دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی نقش شناسایی مشکل و سرمایه فکری در مدیریت مزیت رقابتی هتل ها - الزویر 2018

ABSTRACT

Although the effects of intellectual capital on an organization’s competitive advantage are well documented, the mechanisms that explain those effects remain unclear. We propose that intellectual capital is associated with the way problems are identified, which is concerned with enhancing competitive advantage. The results of our study support a structural model whereby the indirect effects of intellectual capital on a hotel’s competitive advantage are determined through the mechanisms of problem identification. Additional analyses reveal that customer capital is related to structural capital, which predicts the hotel’s human capital. Furthermore, the process-oriented view indicates that innovative ability mediates the effects of ability capital on competitive performance.

5. Conclusion and discussion

This study examined the mutual relationships between dimensions of intellectual capital, including customer capital, structural capital and human capital, when creating competitive advantage. The results indicate that intellectual capital may directly and indirectly facilitate competitive advantage in the highly competitive hotel industry. More specifically, intellectual capital is positively related to problem identification, which, in turn, is positively related to competitive advantage. These findings highlight the critical roles of intellectual capital in the hospitality industry and identify the different aspects of competitive advantage. The implication of our results is that hotels must actively manage their intellectual capital by investing in three related intangible attributes: human capital, structural capital and customer capital. These findings show that the value of intellectual capital in hospitality organizations is inextricably tied to competitive advantage. The importance of intellectual capital not only influences Asian hotel industries’ competitive advantage but also affects Slovenian hotel industries’ financial performance (Rudež and Mihalič, 2007). Therefore, to effectively increase intellectual capital, hospitality managers may suggest increasing mutual trust among employees, improving relationships with customers, and promoting the sharing of information and knowledge among colleagues (Enz et al., 2006a,b). Given that competitive advantage is a consequence of collaborative effort and the accumulation of intangible assets (Kim and Oh, 2004), intellectual capital assumes a central role in improving problem identification capability. Thus, effectively accumulated problem identification capabilities can increase a hotel’s understanding of a critical problem to the extent that multiple perspectives and assessments of the problem that fit within the context of the hotel’s dynamic environment and changing customer needs are considered; this results in an improved competitive advantage. Investments in developing intellectual capital may therefore be fundamental for developing a range of problem identification capabilities, gaining the flexibility to adapt to a changing environment, or exploring these capabilities to capture market opportunities or competitive exigencies. Accordingly, intellectual capital may be the key not only to creating ambidextrous organizations but also to helping organizations develop “dynamic capabilities” that enable them to shift their competitive focus and achieve competitive advantage (Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005).