This paper aims to understand the impact of intellectual capital components (human, structural and relational capital) on business internationalization through exports, analyzing the Colombian manufacturing sector.
A binomial logistic regression model was used in which the export propensity was the dependent variable. The explanatory variables consisted of the human capital, including training and managerial characteristics; the structural capital, including innovation, intellectual property, certifications and management and the relational capital, encompassing relationships with other companies, public entities and the domestic market. The Survey of Development and Technological Innovation - EDIT - Industry 2018, carried out by the National Administrative Department of Statistics of Colombia, was used to collect data from 7,529 companies in 24 manufacturing subsectors.
The research findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between internationalization and human capital (postgraduate, university and school training), with structural capital (innovation in organizational processes, ownership of patents, software rights, industrial rights, trademark registration, obtaining intellectual property rights, complexity in design, process certifications, compliance with technical requirements and the existence of production goals) and with relational capital (confidentiality agreements with other companies and contracts with the international public sector).
This article contributes to the literature generating knowledge on the relationship between intellectual capital and the internationalization of Colombian industrial companies. It will also have managerial and social implications serving as input for the decision-making process of firms undergoing internationalization, and for policymakers.
