Relational capital is one of the three primary components of
intellectual capital Intellectual capital is the result of mental processes that form a set of intangible objects that can be used in economic activity and bring income to its owner (organization), covering the competencies of its people ( human capital), the value rela ...
, and is the value inherent in a company's relationships with its customers, vendors, and other important constituencies. It also includes knowledge, capabilities, procedures and systems which are developed from relationships with external agents.
Overview
Relational capital is defined as all relationships - market relationships, power relationships and cooperation - established between firms, institutions and people, which stem from a strong sense of belonging and a highly developed capacity of cooperation typical of culturally similar people and institutions. Relational dependency may be vertical or horizontal, either up or downstream, shaping different types of cooperative, collaborative or coopetitive mechanisms in different ecosystem. There are major conceptual differences between industrial and regional economists in their views towards relational capital. There have been research studies applying quantitative, empirical, and
econometric
Econometrics is the application of statistical methods to economic data in order to give empirical content to economic relationships. M. Hashem Pesaran (1987). "Econometrics," '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 2, p. 8 p. 8 ...
techniques in an effort to verify the existence of relational capital and its importance to the innovation activity in firms. Proxies are found to represent the channels through which knowledge develops at the local level and therefore indirectly of relational capital.
Leif Edvinsson
Leif Edvinsson (born 1946) is a Swedish organizational theorist, Professor at the University of Lund in Sweden and consultant, known for his work on intellectual capital. and knowledge management.Wenger, Etienne, Richard Arnold McDermott, and Will ...
, Director of
Intellectual capital Intellectual capital is the result of mental processes that form a set of intangible objects that can be used in economic activity and bring income to its owner (organization), covering the competencies of its people ( human capital), the value rela ...
at
Skandia
Skandia is a financial services corporation in Sweden.
History
Skandia started out as a Swedish insurance company in 1855. Today the brand operates in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Skandia also operates an internet bank called Skandiab ...
, may be considered the father of current thought on Intellectual Capital. Edvinsson and Malone (1997) and Brooking (1996) are pioneers in working with intellectual capital.
Customer capital is the strength and loyalty of customer relations. Customer satisfaction, repeat business, financial well-being, and price sensitivity may be used as indicators of customer capital.
The notion that customer capital is separate from human and structural capital indicates its central importance to an organization’s worth. The relationship with customers is distinct from other relationships either within or outside an organization. Relational Capital or Customer Capital is the strength and loyalty of customer relationships.
[Luthy, David H. "Intellectual capital and its measurement." Proceedings of the Asian Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference (APIRA), Osaka, Japan. Cambridge University Press, 1998.]
See also
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Intellectual capital Intellectual capital is the result of mental processes that form a set of intangible objects that can be used in economic activity and bring income to its owner (organization), covering the competencies of its people ( human capital), the value rela ...
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Intellectual capital management Intellectual capital is the sum of all knowledge; implying that knowledge that exists at different levels both within or outside the organisation has to be taken into account for intellectual capital. The intangible nature of many knowledge products ...
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Structural capital Structural capital is one of the three primary components of intellectual capital, and consists of the supportive infrastructure, processes, and databases of the organisation that enable human capital to function. Structural capital is owned by an ...
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Organisational capital Organizational capital is the value to an enterprise which is derived from organization philosophy and systems which leverage the organization's capability in delivering goods or services.
Overview
Organizational capital is one of the three compone ...
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Social capital
Social capital is "the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively". It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships ...
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Social reserves Social Reserves refer to the intangible ties that bind a country together. As a resource, they may be contrasted to a country's financial reserves. The term bears some similarity to the Bhutanese concept of Gross national happiness, in that it atte ...
References
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Corporate finance
Information economy
Mergers and acquisitions
Capital (economics)