Intellectual Capital and Organizational Survival of Selected Banks in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The dwindling economic situation in Nigeria resulting from the sharp drop in oil price and the several reforms witnessed in the banking sector has adversely affected profitability of Nigerian banks. In other to manage these challenges and remain in existence, Nigerian banks need to focus on the management of their tangible and intangible assets. These assets are not only valuable to their survival, they are scarce and difficult to imitate. The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the relationship between intellectual capital and organizational survival, to determine the extent of relationship between the dimensions of intellectual capital and the measures of organizational survival. The theoretical framework for this study is Human relations theory (HRT). The study population consisted of 140 bankers with 103 participants drawn from 21 commercial banks in Rivers State, Nigeria. Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient revealed that the ability of organizations to invest wisely on their human capital does not necessarily position the organization to anticipate problems in advance and develop satisfactory and timely solutions. Participants noted that investment in human capital does not also necessarily increase an organization's ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external competencies to address rapidly changing environments.