The effect of intellectual capital attributes on organizational performance. The case of the performing arts organizations

In this study we propose a model of how intellectual capital attributes affect the performance of organizations operating in the performing arts sector, more specifically opera companies. In particular, the aim of this paper is twofold in that it seeks: 1) to analyze the role intellectual capital plays in performing arts organizations and 2) to propose research hypotheses that suggest how intellectual capital affects the performance of these organizations. An in-depth qualitative approach was adopted. The research methodology deployed consists of a longitudinal case study of a major Italian opera house. The main findings of this study are two: 1) the identification of six attributes of intellectual capital that are deeply grounded in management theories and that make the definition of the intellectual capital construct more theoretically robust with respect to other studies that are less theory-based; 2) the development of a model that shows how intellectual capital attributes affect the three different performance dimensions of performing arts organizations.