Does the intellectual capital affect family businesses’ strategic performance?

Purpose Family businesses cannot continue if they fail to enhance their strategic performance by creating sufficient value for their shareholders. This study explores how value-added intellectual capital (VAICTM) can enhance strategic performance (SP) by enhancing shareholder value added (SVA) of family businesses. Design/methodology/approach The study depended on secondary data collected from (32) family firms listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) for the period 2018–2023. Strategic financial performance was measured by shareholder value added (SVA). VAICTM was measured using Public’s (1998) model. The fixed effect model was used to estimate the study models. Findings The ability to create value for family business shareholders is greatly influenced by intellectual capital (IC). The analysis results indicated that the added value of intellectual capital VAICTM with all its components contributes to enhancing strategic performance through the impact on the SVA. Practical implications The outturns of this study can participate in directing the efforts of the ASE management to raise the level of intellectual capital value-added (VAICTM) of family businesses, to support the growth and development of these companies and improve their SP and sustainability. It also draws the attention of the family businesses’ management to enhance its ability to rely on measures that reflect SP. Originality/value The impact of VAICTM on the SVA has not been studied in studies that have investigated the relationship between intellectual capital and family businesses performance. Previous studies focused on traditional financial performance measures, so this study focuses on VAICTM and its impact on SP represented by SVA.