How does intellectual capital efficiency affect firm performance? The moderating role of family management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: to know whether those firms that achieve greater efficiency from their intangible resources (intellectual capital) also obtain greater performance; and to analyze the moderating role of family management on that relationship in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach This paper conducts an empirical study with different econometric models using a panel data sample of 6,132 paired firm-year observations from Spanish manufacturing SMEs in the period 2000-2013. Findings The findings suggest that intellectual capital efficiency is a key factor that allows the firm to achieve and maintain competitive advantages, obtaining greater performance. Additionally, this research also shows that the moderating role of family management can be a double-edged sword depending on the type of intangible resources. Originality/value This paper extends the prior literature by studying the joint effects of intellectual capital efficiency, distinguishing between human capital and structural capital efficiency, and family management on performance in the context of SMEs.