Intellectual capital as a performance factor of communication and information start-ups in Portugal

In order to analyse the influence of intellectual capital on the performance of communication and information start-ups, a quantitative methodology was selected, whose data were collected through a questionnaire survey addressed to the management bodies of communication and information start-ups, and 100 valid responses were considered. The results obtained show that intellectual capital has a strong influence on performance and that, among the dimensions of intellectual capital, there is one that exerts a greater influence on each of the dimensions of the balanced scorecard. The present study indicates as contributions, regarding literature, the connection between the constructs, intellectual capital and performance, allowing to deepen the knowledge about these concepts and, also, to evidence the importance of intellectual capital as a performance enhancer. For the corporate environment, the most significant contribution is the affirmation of intellectual capital as a competitive advantage for companies of this type, as it enhances their performance.