Intellectual capital and asset quality: A nonlinear investigation in the Turkish Banking sector

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the intricate relationship between intellectual capital and asset quality within the context of the Turkish banking sector to determine the optimal level of intellectual capital investment that can enhance the asset quality of deposit banks. The study relies on panel data regression analysis to explore this complex relationship, and its dataset encompasses 22 deposit banks over 17 years, from 2005 to 2021. The study provides compelling evidence of a nonlinear relationship between intellectual capital and asset quality. It pinpoints an optimal threshold for intellectual capital investments, beyond which further increases can erode asset quality. Furthermore, the study identifies specific intellectual capital components that impact the asset quality of state-owned, privately owned, and foreign deposit banks differently. The findings indicate that optimizing human capital efficiency and capital employed efficiency is critical for enhancing the asset quality of deposit banks. In contrast, the significance of structural and relational capital efficiency may vary, demanding a careful balance of investment strategies.