Intellectual capital, profitability and market value of financial and non-financial services firms listed in Ghana

This study examines the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on profitability and market value using a dataset of 20 listed firms in Ghana covering the period 2008 to 2017. The value added intellectual coefficient (VAIC (TM)) measures IC performance (with human capital efficiency, structural capital efficiency and capital employed efficiency as components) while return on asset and return on equity measure profitability and Tobin's Q measures market value. The findings show that among financial services firms, VAIC (TM) and its components enhance profitability but does not significantly affect market value. However, among non-financial services firms, VAIC (TM) enhances only return on asset and only capital employed efficiency enhances market value. The study also explores the effect of control variables such as size, age, foreign ownership and government ownership. This study is unique in exploring the difference between the IC and performance nexus among financial and non-financial services firms in an emerging market context.