The Role of Intellectual Capital in Technological Innovation

Within the theoretical framework discussed, this chapter attempts to show the influence of the allocation of resources and capabilities, or, in our case, the elements of intellectual capital, in achieving a competitive advantage, understood as a result of the innovation process. Such a perspective of innovation based on intellectual capital also helps in gaining a better understanding of the innovation process, since, as noted by Galende and De la Fuente (2003), much of the research addressing the study of innovation from an external perspective does not consider the internal complexity that characterizes the process of innovation, and which allows them to analyse the intellectual capital. Moreover, we can consider that the ability of a firm to innovate depends very closely on the intellectual assets and knowledge owned, and how these can be deployed (Alegre and Lapiedra, 2005; Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005). Furthermore, though the initial links have been made between knowledge and/or intellectual capital and innovation, more research must be done in order to understand its complex and precise nature.