How to manage intellectual capital configurations to improve firm performance in the internet medical industry
Abstract
The internet medical industry is a new direction of the medical industry; however, internet medical enterprises have been going through a reshuffling period after 2016 and urgently need to improve their performance. The main aim of this study was to reveal the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) configurations and firm performance and guide ideal IC configuration decision to improve the performance of internet medical enterprises in China. First, a mechanism model was constructed to reveal the effects of IC configurations on firm performance, which is contribution to enrich IC configuration theory research. Then, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to guide its IC configurations selection currently using data from internet medical enterprises in China from 2012 to 2019. The research is contribution to enrich application research of IC configuration. The results show that IC affects firm performance by means of the configuration; currently ideal IC configurations selection of the internet medical industry should pay attention to human, relationship and physical capital; period and specific business will both affect the choice of IC configuration. The results of this study can deepen managers’ understanding of IC configurations and guide ideal IC configurations selection in the internet medical industry.
First published online 30 November 2021
Keyword : IC, IC configuration, firm performance, mechanism model, fsQCA, internet medical industry.
How to Cite
Dai, X., Zhu, W., Zhang, C., Wu, Y., & Hu, X. (2022). How to manage intellectual capital configurations to improve firm performance in the internet medical industry. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 23(1), 20–39. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2021.15673
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Manes-Rossi, F., Bisogno, M., Aversano, N., & Citro, F. (2020). IC in Italian healthcare: Senior managers’ perspectives. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 33(6/7), 629–646. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-11-2019-0298
Meuer, J., & Rupietta, C. (2017). A review of integrated QCA and statistical analyses. Quality & Quantity, 51(5), 2063–2083. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-016-0397-z
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Ordanini, A., Parasuraman, A., & Rubera, G. (2014). When the recipe is more important than the ingredients: A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of service innovation configurations. Journal of Service Research, 17(2), 134–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670513513337
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Stewart, T., & Ruckdeschel, C. (1998). IC: The new wealth of organizations. Performance Improvement, 37(7), 56–59. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.4140370713
Sydler, R., Haefliger, S., & Pruksa, R. (2014). Measuring IC with financial figures: Can we predict firm profitability? European Management Journal, 32(2), 244–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2013.01.008
Ting, I. W. K., Ren, C., Chen, F. C., & Kweh, Q. L. (2020), Interpreting the dynamic performance effect of IC through a value-added-based perspective. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 21(3), 381–401. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-05-2019-0098
Toth, Z., Henneberg, S. C., & Naude, P. (2017). Addressing the “Qualitative” in fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis: The generic membership evaluation template. Industrial Marketing Management, 63, 192–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.10.008
Tsui, E., Wang, W. M., Cai, L., Cheung, C., & Lee, W. (2014). Knowledge-based extraction of IC-related information from unstructured data. Expert Systems with Applications, 41(4), 1315–1325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2013.08.029
Urban, B., & Joubert, G. C. D. S. (2017). Multidimensional and comparative study on IC and organisational performance. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(1), 84–99. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2016.1255990
Wu, A. (2005). The integration between balanced scorecard and IC. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 6(2), 267–284. https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930510592843
Xu, J., & Li, J. (2019). The impact of IC on SMEs’ performance in China: Empirical evidence from non-high-tech vs. high-tech SMEs. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 20(4), 488–509. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-04-2018-0074
Yang, C. C., & Lin, Y. Y. (2009). Does IC mediate the relationship between HRM and organizational performance? Perspective of a healthcare industry in Taiwan. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(9), 1965–1984. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190903142415
Yang, C. C., & Zhu, W. D. (2015). Added value distribution pattern and its determinant factors analysis-empirical study based on our country listed company. Chinese Journal of Management Science, 23(03), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.16381/j.cnki.issn1003-207x.2015.03.017
Afza, T., & Ahmed, N. (2017). Capital structure, business strategy and firm’s performance: Evidence from Pakistan. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 6(2), 302–328. https://core.ac.uk/reader/230041910
Bayraktaroglu, A. E., Calisir, F., & Baskak, M. (2019). IC and firm performance: an extended VAIC model. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 20(3), 406–425. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-12-2017-0184
Cabrilo, S., & Dahms, S. (2018). How strategic knowledge management drives IC to superior innovation and market performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22(3), 621–648. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2017-0309
Carlucci, D., & Schiuma, G. (2012). Assessing and managing organizational climate in healthcare organizations: An IC based perspective. International Journal of Information Systems in the Service Sector (IJISSS), 4(4), 49–61. https://doi.org/10.4018/jisss.2012100103
Chen, J., Jiang, C., & Lin, Y. (2014) What determine firms’ capital structure in China? Managerial Finance, 40(10), 1024–1039. https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-06-2013-0163
Cricelli, L., Greco, M., Grimaldi, M., & Llanes Duenas, L. P. (2018). IC and university performance in emerging countries: Evidence from Colombian public universities. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 19(1), 71–95. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-02-2017-0037
Dženopoljac, V., Janoševic, S., & Bontis, N. (2016). Intellectual capital and financial performance in the Serbian ICT industry. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 17(2), 373–396. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-07-2015-0068
Edvinsson, L. (1997). Developing IC at Skandia. Long Range Planning, 30(3), 366–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0024-6301(97)90248-X
Evans, J. M., Brown, A., & Baker, G. R. (2015). Intellectual capital in the healthcare sector: A systematic review and critique of the literature. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1), 556. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-1234-0
Fiss, P. C. (2011). Building better causal theories: A fuzzy set approach to typologies in organization research. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2), 393–420. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.60263120
Foroudi, P., Jin, Z., Gupta, S., Foroudi, M. M., & Kitchen, P. J. (2018). Perceptional components of brand equity: Configuring the Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Paths to brand loyalty and brand purchase intention. Journal of Business Research, 89(1), 462–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.031
Guthrie, J., Ricceri, F., & Dumay, J. (2012). Reflections and projections: A decade of IC accounting research. The British Accounting Review, 44(2), 68–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2012.03.004
Han, J., Zhang, X., & Meng, Y. (2020). The impact of internet medical information overflow on residents’ medical expenditure based on China’s observations. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3539. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103539
Huang, H., Leone, D., Caporuscio, A., & Kraus, S. (2021). Managing IC in healthcare organizations. A conceptual proposal to promote innovation. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 22(2), 290–310. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-02-2020-0063
Inkinen, H. (2015). Review of empirical research on IC and firm performance. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 16(3), 518–565. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-01-2015-0002
Jardon, C. M., & Susana Martos, M. (2012). IC as competitive advantage in emerging clusters in Latin America. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 13(4), 462–481. https://doi.org/10.1108/14691931211276098
Johan, R., & Goran, R. (1997). Measuring your company’s intellectual performance. Long Range Planning, 30(3), 413–426. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0024-6301(97)90260-0
Joshi M, C. D., & Sidhu, J. (2013). IC and financial performance: An evolution of the Australian financial sector. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 14(2), 264–285. https://doi.org/10.1108/14691931311323887
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). The balanced scorecard. Technometrics, 40(3), 266–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/00401706.1998.10485544
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2010). The strategy-focused organization: How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment (3rd ed). Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
Manes-Rossi, F., Bisogno, M., Aversano, N., & Citro, F. (2020). IC in Italian healthcare: Senior managers’ perspectives. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 33(6/7), 629–646. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-11-2019-0298
Meuer, J., & Rupietta, C. (2017). A review of integrated QCA and statistical analyses. Quality & Quantity, 51(5), 2063–2083. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-016-0397-z
Murthy, V., & Mouritsen, J. (2011). The performance of intellectual capital: Mobilising relationships between intellectual and financial capital in a bank. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 24(5), 622–646. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513571111139120
Ordanini, A., Parasuraman, A., & Rubera, G. (2014). When the recipe is more important than the ingredients: A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of service innovation configurations. Journal of Service Research, 17(2), 134–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670513513337
Pflugfelder, N. S. (2021). Knowledge management as a driver of performance in ambulatory healthcare – a systematic literature review through an intellectual capital lens. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 22(2), 403–432. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-02-2020-0068
Ragin, C. C., & Fiss, P. C. (2008). Redesigning social inquiry: Fuzzy sets and beyond (11th ed). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226702797.001.0001
Salim, M. N., & Djausin, R. P. I. (2020). Determinants of financial performance and its impact on the growth of Islamic Bank Assets on Indonesia. International Journal of Business, Economics and Management, 7(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.18488/journal.62.2020.71.27.41
Stewart, T., & Ruckdeschel, C. (1998). IC: The new wealth of organizations. Performance Improvement, 37(7), 56–59. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.4140370713
Sydler, R., Haefliger, S., & Pruksa, R. (2014). Measuring IC with financial figures: Can we predict firm profitability? European Management Journal, 32(2), 244–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2013.01.008
Ting, I. W. K., Ren, C., Chen, F. C., & Kweh, Q. L. (2020), Interpreting the dynamic performance effect of IC through a value-added-based perspective. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 21(3), 381–401. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-05-2019-0098
Toth, Z., Henneberg, S. C., & Naude, P. (2017). Addressing the “Qualitative” in fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis: The generic membership evaluation template. Industrial Marketing Management, 63, 192–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.10.008
Tsui, E., Wang, W. M., Cai, L., Cheung, C., & Lee, W. (2014). Knowledge-based extraction of IC-related information from unstructured data. Expert Systems with Applications, 41(4), 1315–1325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2013.08.029
Urban, B., & Joubert, G. C. D. S. (2017). Multidimensional and comparative study on IC and organisational performance. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(1), 84–99. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2016.1255990
Wu, A. (2005). The integration between balanced scorecard and IC. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 6(2), 267–284. https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930510592843
Xu, J., & Li, J. (2019). The impact of IC on SMEs’ performance in China: Empirical evidence from non-high-tech vs. high-tech SMEs. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 20(4), 488–509. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-04-2018-0074
Yang, C. C., & Lin, Y. Y. (2009). Does IC mediate the relationship between HRM and organizational performance? Perspective of a healthcare industry in Taiwan. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(9), 1965–1984. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190903142415
Yang, C. C., & Zhu, W. D. (2015). Added value distribution pattern and its determinant factors analysis-empirical study based on our country listed company. Chinese Journal of Management Science, 23(03), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.16381/j.cnki.issn1003-207x.2015.03.017