Innovation Capital, Process Capital and Performance of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Firms in South-East Nigeria

This study examined the relationship between intellectual capital and the organisational performance of pharmaceutical manufacturing firms in South-East Nigeria, with particular attention to innovation capital and process capital. Two specific objectives, research questions and hypotheses guided the enquiry. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and primary data were gathered through a structured questionnaire administered to permanent employees of twenty purposively selected pharmaceutical manufacturing firms drawn from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States. A sample of 100 respondents was determined and proportionally allocated across the firms, while stratified random sampling was used to select the actual respondents. The instrument was validated through content validity, and its reliability was confirmed using the test-retest method, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.625 to 0.790. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics, and the hypotheses were tested using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient through SPSS version 23. The findings revealed a strong, positive and statistically significant relationship between innovation capital and production effectiveness (r = 0.712, p < 0.05), and between process capital and operational efficiency (r = 0.684, p < 0.05). The study concluded that intellectual capital is a decisive driver of superior performance among pharmaceutical manufacturers in the zone, and recommended sustained investment in research and development, the codification of routines and knowledge-management systems, and deliberate managerial commitment to knowledge assets.