Intellectual capital and performance of public universities in Ghana from the balance scorecard perspective

Abstract

The role of Intellectual Capital in the performance and progress of universities in other parts of the world is obvious but there is little evidence in Africa. This study, therefore, investigated the relationship that exists between Intellectual Capital and the performance of public Universities in Ghana from the balanced scorecard perspective. The study employed the descriptive causal design and 178 Head of Department across public universities in Ghana were sampled using the census sampling technique for the study. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 software and the PLS- SEMS version 4. The study revealed that with respect to human intellectual capital, the number of conferences attended by Lecturers is commendable. Also, the result showed that the indicators of the balance scored card showed that the public universities in Ghana are performing well from the perspective of all the indicators, especially the financial measures. The study also found that socioeconomic factors affect performance positively while the moderating role that socio-economic factors had a positive effect on how Intellectual Capital affects performance measured by a balanced scorecard. The study recommended that much attention should be paid to human intellectual capital and structural capital development to sustain improved growth in public universities in Ghana. Finally, the study recommended that the level of education and other socioeconomic factors should be improved since they directly affect the intellectual capital which eventually affects the performance of public universities in Ghana.