Intangible Capital, Innovation and Export-Led Growth: Empirical Comparative Study of Slovenia and the Western Balkans

Abstract

In the face of progressing globalisation and liberalisation of the markets, innovation is the minimum necessary requirement for companies and countries to be globally competitive, and knowledge is the key input. In a comparative study we investigate the intellectual capital of a sample of firms from the Western Balkans and Slovenia, and analyse the link between intellectual capital, innovation, and export volume. Using unique survey data sets for these countries, we propose a structural model to examine our hypotheses. The results suggest that possessing intellectual capital does not suffice for firms’ global competitiveness and that higher presence on global markets may offer exposure to more advanced knowledge that firms cannot obtain in their domestic markets.