Unpacking intellectual capital microfoundations: insights from an interventionist study

Abstract

Purpose – Adopting a microfoundational perspective, this study aims to investigate how personal characteristics, micro-level interactions and structures shape the configuration of intellectual capital (IC) in its human, relational and structural dimensions, affecting strategic direction. Design/methodology/approach – The study takes advantage of an interventionist research (IVR) project conducted in a family-owned manufacturing company. The IVR methodology enabled the analysis of IC microfoundations and their implications, as well as the design of targeted, context-specific interventions to address IC limitations. Data were collected through site visits, personality tests, interviews, workshops and internal reports. Findings – The analyses conducted revealed that personal characteristics, such as managerial cognitive orientations, together with micro-level tensions regarding the company’s purpose and values, interpreted through the lens of the paradox approach, shaped the configuration of human, relational and structural capital. These tensions encompassed both structural and interactional aspects. The resulting IC configuration had implications for the company’s strategic direction, particularly in terms of governance and decision-making, mission, competitive strategy and business model. Originality/value – This study contributes to the third stage of IC research by operationalising the microfoundational perspective in practice. As a novel contribution, it integrates analytical tools such as the Jungian approach and the paradox approach into the analysis of IC dimensions. Finally, the analytical model applied in the IVR offers a transferable tool for diagnosing IC limitations and guiding strategy innovation in other organisational settings.