نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

• بهروز بادپا ¹
• داریوش اخترشناس ²
• امین قنبری ³

¹ استادیار، گروه حسابداری، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه ایلام، ایلام، ایران.

² استادیار گروه حسابداری، دانشکده علوم انسانی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه کردستان، سنندج، ایران.

³ کارشناسی ارشد حسابدرای مدیریت، دانشگاه ایلام.

چکیده

در شرایط اقتصادی پیچیده و مدرن کنونی، شرکت‌هایی می‌توانند به مزیت رقابتی دست پیدا کنند که علاوه بر دارایی‌های مشهود از دانش، تجربه و توانایی‌های کارکنان بهره بیشتری ببرند. شرکت‌هایی که سرمایه فکری بالاتری دارند می‌توانند با بهره‌گیری از همه توانمندی‌های خود، استراتژی مطلوبی برای موفقیت شرکت اتخاذ کنند و ضمن بهبود عملکرد شرکت به نتایج عملیاتی پایدار دست پیدا کنند. بر این اساس، ابتدا میزان کارایی زنجیره ارزش شرکت با استفاده از تابع مرزی تصادفی اندازه‌گیری شده و سپس، تأثیر سرمایه فکری بر کارایی زنجیره ارزش، جریان‌های نقدی و ریسک ورشکستگی آن بررسی شده است. اگر چه جامعه آماری پژوهش حاضر شامل همه شرکت‌های پذیرفته‌شده در بورس اوراق بهادار تهران بوده است، اما با توجه به محدودیت‌هایی که برای دستیابی به نتایج قابل اتکای پژوهش اعمال شده است با استفاده از غربالگری تعداد 142 شرکت به عنوان نمونه آماری انتخاب شده که داده‌های آن‌ها در دوره زمانی یازده‌ساله از سال 1392 تا سال 1402 مورد بررسی قرار گرفته است. فرضیه‌های پژوهش نیز با استفاده مدل‌سازی معادلات ساختاری توسط نرم‌افزار SmartPLS مورد بررسی قرار گرفته است. یافته‌های پژوهش در سطح اطمینان 95 درصد نشان داد، سرمایه فکری شرکت بر کارایی زنجیره ارزش و جریان‌های نقدی آن تأثیر مثبت دارد، اما بر ریسک ورشکستگی شرکت تأثیر منفی دارد. از طرفی، کارایی زنجیره ارزش، جریان‌های نقدی را افزایش می‌دهد، در حالی‌که ریسک ورشکستگی شرکت را کاهش می‌دهد.

کلیدواژه‌ها

• سرمایه فکری
• کارایی زنجیره ارزش
• جریان‌های نقدی
• ریسک ورشکستگی
• مدل‌سازی معادلات ساختاری

موضوعات

• حسابداری مالی

عنوان مقاله [English]

The Role of Intellectual Capital in Improving Value Chain Efficiency, Increasing Cash Flows, and Reducing Company Bankruptcy Risk

نویسندگان [English]

• Behrooz Badpa ¹
• Darioush Akhtarshenas ²
• Amin Ghanbari ³

¹ Assistant Prof., Department of Accounting, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran.

² Assistant Professor of Accounting, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

³ M.Sc. in Accounting, University of Ilam, Ilam, Iran.

چکیده [English]

Introduction

In today's complex and modern economic environment, companies can gain a competitive advantage by optimally utilizing not only tangible assets but also the knowledge, experience, and capabilities of their employees. Firms with higher intellectual capital can adopt favorable strategies to achieve success by leveraging all available resources, thereby enhancing performance and attaining sustainable operational success. The value-added intellectual coefficient model, which measures the efficiency of intellectual capital, comprises three components: human capital efficiency, structural capital efficiency, and capital employed efficiency. By investing in human capital development, a company can improve the efficiency of its value chain through increased workforce productivity and effectiveness. Similarly, investing in structural capital can enhance value chain efficiency by streamlining processes, reducing waste, and improving communication and collaboration. Moreover, investment in intellectual capital development typically leads to increased returns and value creation, thereby improving the quality of the value chain. Based on this, the efficiency of the company's value chain was assessed using the stochastic frontier analysis. Subsequently, the impact of intellectual capital on value chain efficiency, cash flows, and bankruptcy risk was examined.



Materials & Methods

Although the research population included all companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange, due to limitations in achieving reliable results, a sample of 142 companies was selected. Data from these companies was analyzed over 11 years (2013–2023). The research hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) by Smart-PLS software. SEM enables researchers to explore complex relationships among multiple variables simultaneously (Hair et al., 2017). According to the research literature, companies with higher intellectual capital are expected to perform better across the value chain by leveraging both tangible and intangible assets, resulting in improved cash flows and reduced bankruptcy risk. Additionally, effective value creation throughout the value chain is expected to lower the risk of bankruptcy and enhance cash flows. Based on this framework, the research proposed the following hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1: The company's intellectual capital has a significant positive effect on the efficiency of its value chain.

Hypothesis 2: The company's intellectual capital has a significant negative effect on its bankruptcy risk.

Hypothesis 3: The company's intellectual capital has a significant positive effect on its cash flows.

Hypothesis 4: The company's value chain efficiency has a significant negative effect on its bankruptcy risk.

Hypothesis 5: The company's value chain efficiency has a significant positive effect on its cash flows.



Findings

The research findings, at a 95% confidence level, revealed that intellectual capital positively influences value chain efficiency and cash flows, while negatively influencing bankruptcy risk. Furthermore, value chain efficiency enhances cash flows and reduces the likelihood of bankruptcy. The highest path coefficient is related to the impact of intellectual capital on the company's cash flows. The impact of intellectual capital on cash flows is greater than the impact of intellectual capital on value chain efficiency, and value chain efficiency on cash flows; in explaining the possible causes, it can be said that intellectual capital can affect the value chain by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of activities; that is, it can lead to more efficient production of goods or services, reduce costs, and improve the overall performance of the value chain; but the relationship between intellectual capital and value chain efficiency may be affected by the industry and context of the company's activity. In addition, intellectual capital allows companies to create greater value for customers, resulting in increased sales and revenue, and consequently, stronger cash flows. By improving transparency and reducing information asymmetry, intellectual capital disclosure enhances investor confidence and lowers the cost of equity, which ultimately boosts net positive cash flows. In explaining the magnitude of the lower path coefficient of intellectual capital and bankruptcy risk compared to intellectual capital and cash flows (regardless of the direction of the relationship), it can be argued that optimal intellectual capital enhances value chain efficiency and shareholder value, increasing sales and operating income. Nevertheless, innovation derived from intellectual capital does not always guarantee a competitive advantage, as it may be influenced by factors such as industry type, economic sanctions, macroeconomic conditions, and market competition.



Discussion & Conclusion

The results further confirmed that intellectual capital significantly improves value chain efficiency. In other words, companies that effectively utilize all dimensions of intellectual capital—structural, human, physical, and financial—exhibit better overall performance across the value chain. These companies also experience higher and more stable cash flows. These findings align with the results of previous studies by Ghayouri-Moghaddam et al. (2012), D'Amato (2021), and Akpinar (2017). Moreover, companies with higher intellectual capital were found to have a lower bankruptcy risk, supporting the conclusions of Festa et al. (2021), Rasheed (2023), and Mollabashi and Sendani (2014), while differing from those of Bakshani (2014). In addition to the above results, the research findings showed that the efficiency of the company's value chain has a significant positive effect on the company's cash flows and a negative effect on its bankruptcy risk, which is consistent with the findings of Sun and Cui (2012) and Akpinar (2017). The results of the study expand the literature on the role of corporate capital dimensions, especially non-physical capital, in the synergy of the company's chain components and its competitive advantage. On the other hand, the results of the study can be useful for the decision-making and planning of company managers, analysts, and consultants in the stock market, investors, shareholders, and also government officials. In this regard, an index called the value chain efficiency rating, which covers the company's comprehensive performance during various operational and support stages, should be considered by analysts and investors in fundamental stock analysis so that the intrinsic value of the stock can be calculated correctly and accurately. Given the positive and significant impact of intellectual capital on the company's cash flows, it is recommended that managers and consultants use the company's intangible assets and intellectual capital as items affecting investment decisions in capital budgeting. It is also recommended that legislators specify the permitted and recommended methods for evaluating companies' intellectual capital so that a more accurate basis for its evaluation is available to everyone. In addition, because some listed companies have foreign exchange income, given the severe fluctuation of the exchange rate in Iran and the high inflation rate, analysts and capital market activists must separate the company's actual financial performance from inflationary financial figures so that the company's intellectual capital can be evaluated more accurately.

Keywords: Intellectual capital, Value chain efficiency, Cash flows, Bankruptcy Risk, Structural Equation Modeling.

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

• Intellectual capital
• Value chain efficiency
• Cash flows
• Bankruptcy Risk
• Structural Equation Modeling