Intellectual capital in construction SMEs: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aims to provide an overview of the topic of intellectual capital in SMEs in the construction industry. Identifying the different research paths based on a systematic literature review will allow effective knowledge of the topics under study and the definition of a research agenda for the future. Design/methodology/approach: This Systematic literature review considers articles collected from the Web of Science (WoS) database, a total of 105 scientific articles published in various reference journals without a defined time interval, using two analyses. A co-citation analysis allows the identification of the most influential authors and references cited within the theme, and a bibliographic coupling analysis enables the identification of the most referenced thematic clusters. Findings: The systematisation of the available literature through the bibliographic coupling analysis identified four clusters, namely cluster (1) Intellectual Capital and Organizational Performance, cluster (2) Knowledge Management, cluster (3) Innovation, and cluster (4) Strategic Partnerships. Originality: The study seeks to provide insights into effective strategies for leveraging intellectual resources to achieve organisational success in the construction industry., The steps that have already been taken are analysed, and the way forward is indicated through a future research agenda to strengthen a poorly explored area.

Keywords

• Intellectual capital
• Organisational performance
• SME
• Construction sector
• Knowledge management
• Strategic partnerships