Abstract

     This study aims at investigating the mediating impact of business intelligence, innovation speed and innovation quality on the relationship between the different components of intellectual capital and competitive advantage in the context of Jordanian companies. To achieve this, the study developed a theoretical framework that depicts the mediation through data that were collected randomly, from the pharmaceutical and medical supplies companies, with a total sample of 569 participants. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, SEM (CB-SEM), for model fit and Process software for path analysis to estimate the different indirect effects. The findings provide evidence that all mediators serve differently as important mediating mechanisms between the different components of intellectual capital and competitive advantage. Overall, the results of this study show and clarify the mediating mechanism of business intelligence, innovation speed and innovation quality, as mediators through which human capital, structural capital and relational capital improve competitive advantage in the context of Jordanian companies.

Introduction

     In the field of business, knowledge has become very important in the success of organizations and their contribution to transformation into a knowledge economy, where most of knowledge is implicit and is available in the minds of individuals, and depends on their intuition, intellectual experience and skills. It is also available in the form of meaningful information about the market, the beneficiary, communications and technology. In fact, knowledge can be measured and plays a crucial role in achieving competitive advantage [1]. Competitive advantage is defined as a distinct skill, technology or resource that enables the organization to provide a service, commodity or benefits distinct from what competitors provide within the same sector, which confirms the distinction and difference of the organization from its competitors from the point of view of customers [2]. However, Dynamic Capabilities, sustainable competitive advantage, innovations and market responsiveness are all sources of competitive advantage. Dynamic Capabilities are the organizational and strategic routines by which firms achieve new resource configurations as markets emerge, collide, split, evolve and die [3]. An innovation is defined as an idea, a product or process, or a system that is perceived to be new to an individual [4]. Sustainable competitive advantage is defined as a strategy that cannot be easily imitated by the competitors of the resources owned and used by a company and thus creates value [5]. Market responsiveness describes how timely the organization is in responding to market changes [6]. In light of this, the methods of developing performance in organizations have changed, after they were focused on the organizational or material side of the administrative process, which was losing its spirit or human nature, and leading to a feeling of frustration for workers and beneficiaries. These methods became focused on the human aspect of the administrative process in its practical sense, including the elements of effective leadership, empowering workers and attention to intellectual capital [7].

Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations

     Based on the results obtained, the study found that the impact of structural capital on competitive advantage via the mediation of business intelligence is insignificant, and the impact of relational capital on competitive advantage via the mediation of business intelligence is negatively significant, while the impact of human capital on competitive advantage via the mediation of business intelligence is positively significant. These findings together prove the existence of the mediation effect of business intelligence. This role of business intelligence is supported by [25], who showed that the various types of business intelligence are used for competitive advantage. In addition, business intelligence is involved in various other relations linked to competitive advantage as shown by [6]. However, in the current study, this is only clearly shown between human capital and competitive advantage. This result clarifies the mediating mechanism of business intelligence through which human capital improves competitive advantage in the pharmaceutical and medical supply companies in the Jordanian context. This means that pharmaceutical and medical supply companies in Jordan are effectively taking advantage of business intelligence by which human capital improves competitive advantage

     Having said this, the insignificant impact of structural capital and the negative impact of relational capital on competitive advantage through business intelligence could be attributed to either a low level of both structural and relational capital or the absence of such effect at all. These findings indicate that merely emphasizing structural capital and relational capital may not guarantee the expected competitive advantage. However, as none of the researchers have examined such mediation of the business intelligence relationship, especially at the individual level of the different components of intellectual capital, our findings can be partially supported by [6,25,33,42–۴۴] only in the impact of Business intelligence on competitive advantage.