Does corporate governance moderate the relationship between intellectual capital and firm's performance?

Previous studies examined the relationship between intellectual capital and a firm's performance. However, the moderating role of corporate governance—a fundamental factor leading to improved firm performance and increased intellectual capital accumulation—has largely been ignored, particularly in an emerging market such as Vietnam. As such, this study examines the moderating role of corporate governance on the intellectual capital–performance nexus in Vietnam. This study uses a sample of 45 listed firms in Vietnam from 2011 to 2018. The generalized method of moments (GMM) technique is utilized in this paper to enhance the robustness of the findings. The modified value-added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC) model is used to measure intellectual capital. A firm's performance is proxied by both returns on assets and equity. Our results indicate that intellectual capital components such as capital employed efficiency, human capital efficiency and structural capital efficiency provide a significant and positive effect on a firm's performance. In addition, the results reveal that the inclusion of corporate governance as a moderating factor affects the relationship between intellectual capital and a firm's performance in Vietnam. Findings from this paper provide a valuable framework and implications for executives and policymakers in creating and managing intellectual capital within the Vietnamese context. Besides, improving corporate governance is critical to improving intellectual capital accumulation. To the authors' best knowledge, our literature review indicates that this is the first empirical study that examines the relationship between intellectual capital and a firm's performance using corporate governance as a moderating factor in Vietnam.