Assessing knowledge creation and intellectual capital in banking industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the empirical studies on knowledge creation and intellectual capital (IC) to generalize the important factors concerning knowledge creation and IC of banks. The major purpose is to explore the relationship between knowledge creation and IC through the construction of the correlation patterns between these two elements. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts the knowledge management (KM) measurement to examine the formats of knowledge creation on evaluation of relationship between different elements in the IC of banks by structural equation modeling. Findings – The performance of knowledge creation has significant influence on the accumulation of subsequent human capital. Cognitivists and connectivists are considered the main knowledge creators in the banking industry. The performance of human capital exhibits significant influence on structural capital and customer capital. The performance of customer capital reports significant influence on the formation of structural capital. Research limitations/implications – The ability to create knowledge is highly relevant to IC in the banking industry. Companies should define their own robust mechanisms for knowledge creation to improve their ability in knowledge creation. Knowledge creation in banks should focus on the exchange and sharing of information. It is suggested that the usual approach adopted by banks is brainstorming and workshops, and the connecting approach is team‐oriented. Practical implications – The managers in the banking industry should identify the ways to cultivate in‐depth contents of IC and have comprehensive development on IC to create differentiated advantages and boost corporate competitiveness. Originality/value – The importance of tangible assets is waning and has been gradually shifting to knowledge and IC, and thus, KM has become an important strategy in corporate competition. Organizations have been redefined as platforms that can create knowledge and accumulate intangible, IC.