Intellectual Capital and Financial Performance of Non-financial Firms in Nigeria.
Intellectual Capital (IC) is one of the intangible assets which are frequently associated with performance. The aim of the study is to empirically evaluate the effect of intellectual capital and its components on financial performance of non-financial firms listed on the NGX. The financial performance was measured by return on asset (ROA), while Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) was used as a quantifiable measure to assess the IC and its components. Data were sourced from 20 selected audited annual reports of listed firms on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) over the period 2016-2021. Data gathered were analyzed with descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The result of the analysis shows that all the three components of IC did not have a significant effect on ROA. This could be as a result of the global economic crisis (COVID 19 pandemic) which had a negative financial impact between 2019 and 2021 on all sectors of the economy, listed non-financial firms inclusive. The study concludes that intellectual capital of the selected companies did not drive their performance. Therefore, the study recommends that selected companies should strive to invest more on their physical capital in order to enhance their performance. Keywords: Intellectual Capital, capital employed, human capital, intellectual capital, structural capital JEL Classification: O34, L1