Intellectual Capital and SME Performance: Toward an Integrative Conceptual Framework

Abstract

This article presents a literature review aimed at developing an integrative conceptual framework of the relationship between intellectual capital and the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on the Moroccan context. Grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV), the Knowledge-Based View (KBV), and Dynamic Capabilities Theory, the study first clarifies the three classical dimensions of intellectual capital-human capital, structural capital, and relational capital, before synthesizing the findings of empirical studies conducted across Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe. These studies employ various methodological approaches, including PLS-SEM, DEMATEL, and the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC). The cross-analysis reveals that while all three dimensions of intellectual capital generally exert a positive influence on firm performance, their relative importance varies considerably depending on the industry, firm size, and institutional context, with no universally dominant dimension emerging. The review also highlights the pivotal role of innovation as a mediating mechanism that strengthens, rather than replaces, the direct effects of intellectual capital on performance. Based on these findings, the article proposes an integrative conceptual framework linking intellectual capital dimensions, mediating mechanisms, and contextual moderating factors. It further develops a set of research propositions intended to guide future empirical investigations of Moroccan SMEs, a context that remains underexplored in the existing literature.