How Intellectual Capital Predicts Innovation Output in EU Regions: Implications for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Intellectual capital is an overarching concept that includes the intangible, human-related factors that are relevant to the innovation process, such as human capital and social capital. In the present study, intellectual capital was assessed by indicators measuring different aspects of human and social capital. Factor analysis demonstrated the existence of three underlying factors, with all variables of the model having important contributions to them. A linear regression analysis indicated that 8 out of the 12 variables of intellectual capital used have a statistically significant impact on the measure of innovation output. These findings were discussed and their implications for policy were considered. The paper provides research evidence on the importance of intellectual capital for innovation output and discusses potential ways to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the context of the next generation of sustainable smart specialisation strategies.