Intellectual Capital Management and University Research Group Performance: Mediating Effects of Machiavellianism and Organisational Narcissism

The purpose of the present study is to analyse the mediating effects of organisational Machiavellianism and narcissism on the relationship between intellectual capital management (ICM) and university research group performance (URGP). The hypothesis model is tested with a sample of 288 research groups from Colombian public and private universities, since these groups are responsible for producing knowledge in the country. For the data analysis, structural equations by the partial least squares method are used. The study results show that only organisational narcissism has a mediating effect, which is partial. In conclusion, the research group must adopt narcissistic behaviours and practices, which improve the perceptions it has of its members and of its own knowledge and capacities. In this way, the group will achieve greater presence in its knowledge area and academic spaces, which leads to a better exploitation of knowledge assets and to improvements in research group performance (RGP).