Intellectual Capital and Competitive Advantage of Selected Commercial Banks in Anambra State

Abstract

The world of today has gradually moved away from an equipment and machinery dependent world to a more knowledge dependent world. A world where knowledge, skills and ability rule; a knowledge based economy. The importance of knowledge is even more prominent in the service offering sector of the economy where the survival of the firm depends on their employees skill-set and competencies. This is however not to play down its importance in other sectors of the economy. Moradi, Saeedi, Hajizadeh and Mohammadi (2013) posit that in the 21st century, economic success is dependent upon knowledge, innovation and creativity in making new products and offering better service. This brings to the fore the concept of Intellectual Capital (IC) as an important concept. This concept has over the years been capturing much attention in management and other related field of study. IC plays a fundamental role within modern organizations and is part of the foundation of business in the 21st century (Li-Chang& Chao-Hung, 2010). Thus, in the last decades the strategic management literature has emphasized the crucial role of intangible factors or the intellectual capital as determinants of business competitiveness (Teece, 2000).