Intellectual Capital and Organizational Innovation: Examining the Mediation Role of Knowledge Sharing on the Palestinian Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

According to the literature, in traditional business settings, intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge sharing (KS) significantly contribute to increasing organizational innovation (OI) levels. During COVID-19, the environment transformed, which presents numerous obstacles that necessitate creative and innovative thinking. Here, the researchers wondered if the same phenomenon would occur in the university sector and whether the coronavirus pandemic would have an impact on it. Therefore, this paper aimed to conduct an empirical research study to investigate this. The study followed a quantitative research approach to collect data, which was based on an electronic structured questionnaire survey. In addition, a purposive random sampling technique included 407 academics employed by Palestinian universities in the West Bank area. For data analysis, the SPSS v25 program was employed, while a mediation analysis was carried out using the Process Macro v3.5 software. The research results showed that IC significantly contributes to promoting knowledge sharing and raising OI levels, and KS had a beneficial impact on OI. In the end, it was discovered that KS positively mediated the relationship between IC and OI. Despite some limitations, the study’s findings offer numerous advantages for academics, researchers, and policymakers in universities.