9. Conclusion
This study represented an attempt to investigate the role of IC within organizations (Guthrie and Dumay, 2015; Mouritsen, 2006), investigating the combinations of corporate resources, and tangible and intangible factors that affect value creation (Lev and Daum, 2004). From the study, it emerged that the development of human capital was considered essential to the effective use of the structural innovations introduced by the firm. Employees’ self-assessment was also performed and combined with the firm’s future strategical development of human capital competences, in line with the call of scholars to use IC accounting for strategic purposes in the agricultural sector (Kozera, 2011), and to contribute to management and reporting activities (Guthrie et al., 2012; Mouritsen et al., 2001). Regression analysis showed that training was already contributing to the development of employees’ creativity skills (Amabile, 1988), and from interviews held with top and middle management, it was clear that employees’ education was considered relevant to effectively exploit the firm’s innovative potential. In line with previous studies (Huffman, 2001; Läpple et al., 2015; Toma et al., 2016), farmers’ capability to adopt and exploit innovation was dependent on the level of education provided by the company’s training sessions. By contrast, a linear regression of the effects of training on the acquisition of domain-relevant skills was not solid, and a deeper examination of the data suggested that domain competences can be acquired from a combination of training and experience matured over time. Thus, further research should construct regression models on the basis of these results. Moreover, experience matured in the agricultural field can also be tested in combination with training for the acquisition of creativity-relevant skills, as in this case study the analysis was not performed.
