The Impact of Intellectual Capital on the Firm Performance of Russian Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

The manufacturing industry makes a significant contribution to Russia’s GDP and exports, but it faces problems that hinder its development. The aim of this study is to estimate the relationship between intellectual capital and performance indicators of Russian manufacturing companies. The study analysed a sample of 23,494 observations of Russian manufacturing companies for the 2017–2020 period. The value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) and its components were used to evaluate the impact of intellectual capital on firm performance using polled ordinary least squares, fixed, and random effects models. Intellectual capital significantly and positively affects the performance of companies in both structural and human terms—both through the integrated coefficient VAIC and in the context of individual components of intellectual capital. However, the impact of structural and human capital on performance indicators is significantly lower than the impact of capital employed. There is a distinct focus of enterprises on making profit through the use of company assets, while in the case of Russian manufacturing companies, the potential for profit generation from structural and human capital remains unfulfilled.