The influence of intellectual capital on the financial performance of European professional football clubs

Intellectual capital (IC) is increasingly regarded as a critical factor for the competitiveness of organisations. However, the influence of IC in sports organisations is still underexplored. This paper aims to identify the IC components that are more relevant to the profitability of professional football clubs. Using data from 115 clubs from the Top 6 European leagues, in the period between 2009/2010 and 2018/2019, this study employs a modified value added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC) model to test the relationships between IC and the financial performance of football clubs. The findings suggest that both the MVAIC and the individual IC components have a direct influence on clubs' profitability, except for relational capital (whose impact is manifested through second-order interactions). By shedding further light on the importance of IC for football clubs, the implications of this study may be useful to IC and sport researchers, and to football managers and other stakeholders.