Abstract:
Purpose: Intellectual capital (IC) is an important factor to push and drive organisations to achieve competitive advantages and growth. This study aims to develop and test an instrument to measure IC for employee behaviour in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach: The measurement instrument was designed after assessing literature reviews on IC that provided a strong theoretical support for application of a specific set of items in the SME context. Instrument validity and reliability were tested for item-objective congruence by five experts. The results ranged between 0.8 and 1.0, with a reliability coefficient of 0.950. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to confirm construct validity between theoretical and empirical evidence. Data were collected from 240 hairdressers employed by SMEs in Thailand. Findings: The results revealed that IC can be classified into two groups as human capital and relational capital. Constructs between theoretical concepts and empirical evidence gave values of χ2 = 42.336, df = 35, p = 0.184, χ2/df = 1.210, GFI = 0.972, AGFI = 0.938, RMSEA = 0.030 and SRMR = 0.018. Research limitations/implications: Empirical findings were derived from a sample of 240 hairdressers. However, validation and reliability of the instruments require confirmation in various other contexts with a larger number of samples. This cross-sectional study identified the effects of IC in SMEs, thereby contributing to the ongoing debate regarding the determinants of research performance. Originality/value: The IC instrument was determined as valid and fulfilled the knowledge gap concerning SMEs by facilitating future studies on boundaries with IC assessment spanning SME contexts. This instrumental support will assist researchers and academics to develop a more comprehensive understanding of IC and explore its potential in future research areas. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.