Akua Peprah-Yeboah

This study examines how intellectual capital affects the financial success and long-term sustainability of Ghanaian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It also reviews how acquiring new knowledge could play a role in that relationship. The study used a quantitative survey, employing a structured questionnaire to gather data from 327 MSME owners and managers in Ghana. Intellectual capital is measured as human, structural, and relational capital, while absorptive capacity is measured as knowledge acquisition, assimilation, transformation, and use. Relational capital emerged as the dominant driver of firm outcomes, exerting significant positive effects on financial performance, business sustainability, and absorptive capacity. Structural capital marginally predicted financial performance and significantly predicted absorptive capacity, but produced no direct effect on business sustainability. Human capital yielded no significant direct or mediated effects on any outcome variable. Absorptive capacity strongly and independently predicted both outcome variables, fully mediating the effects of structural and relational capital while human capital pathways through absorptive capacity remained non-significant. These findings establish important boundary conditions for human capital theory in informal institutional environments and clarify absorptive capacity as a necessary conversion mechanism within the resource-based view (RBV) theoretical framework. Policymakers and MSME managers should prioritise external network cultivation and knowledge management systems over standalone workforce training investments.

This study examines the relationship between corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate social performance (CSP), exploring any inherent non-linearities (Jahmane & Gaies, 2020). Further, it investigates whether a formal ethics function on the board moderates this relationship. Literature suggests sustainability committees encourage investment in corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Velte, 2023; Velte & Stawinoga, 2020). Thus, the CSP should be higher and sustained for firms with such structures on the board. Using data from 239 companies across the largest stock markets in West, East, and Southern Africa (2014–2018), the study applies generalized linear regression models that are fitted to the data with CSP score as the outcome variable, and return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) as independent variables. Polynomial terms are introduced to capture non-linearity, and the ethics function on the board is introduced as an interaction term. Findings reveal a non-linear relationship between CFP and CSP, where CSP increases with CFP but declines after a threshold. Furthermore, firms with a board-level ethics function demonstrate stronger CSP engagement, suggesting that ethical oversight influences corporate decision-making on social initiatives. The study underscores the vital role of sustainability committees in maintaining CSP as a strategic priority.