Intellectual Capital as One of the Factors Determining the Competitive Position of Dairy Enterprises in Lublin Voivodeship (Poland)

Competitiveness of enterprise is one of the key issues concerning enterprises nowadays and it is in the area of interest for both theorists and practitioners in economy and management. At present, tangible assets are a secondary factor of growth and the success of the firm is determined by such factors as e.g. ability to gather and exploit information about consumers and competitors and other elements of environment, ability to search opportunities and external threats and their exploitation or avoiding, ability of building permanent relations with environment, ability of creating new products and demand for them, ability to use technologies creatively as well as the ability to shape the organization’s structure and culture in the way that allows for maximal use of staff knowledge and competence. These intangible assets play a key role in both selection and allocation of tangible assets and form intellectual capital of enterprise. The aim of the paper is to examine the role of intellectual capital of Lublin region’s dairy enterprises in shaping their competitive advantage. The research is based on the 14 dairy enterprises in Lublin Voivodeship divided into four strategic groups. The research is based on the data from financial reports and management reports presented every year in National Court Register. The use of financial reports as empiric material makes carried analysis more objective. The study showed that dairy enterprises strategic groups with the best results in the field of intellectual capital have the best competitive position.