The Effect of Intellectual Capital on Market Orientation for Insurance Companies in Lorestan, Iran: An Empirical Study

Abstract

n the era of ultra-competitiveness, organizations are faced with new challenges which require special attention to develop and strengthen the market orientation skills, and this is done through the basics of organizational knowledge and intellectual capital. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of intellectual capital and knowledge sharing on market orientation. This is a descriptive-survey which was administered in a field method. The statistical population in this study consisted of all employees working for the Lorestan insurance companies [N=121]. Due to the limited number of the population, data were collected by the census method with the help of questionnaires. Four hypotheses were presented and tested by the partial least squares method using the Smart PLS software. The results indicate that intellectual capital has a positive and significant effect on market orientation through knowledge sharing. Moreover, the positive effects of intellectual capital on market orientation, intellectual capital on knowledge sharing, and knowledge sharing on market orientation were approved.   Keywords: Intellectual capital, Knowledge sharing, Market orientation, Insurance companies.