Does Size Matter? Evidence on the Influence of Corporate Governance on Intellectual Capital

This study investigates how firm size moderates the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and intellectual capital efficiency among listed banks in Ghana. An explanatory research design was used, which implies the use of a balanced panel of 135 observations from 15 commercial banks for 9 years (2015 to 2023). STATA 15 was used to estimate robust fixed- and random-effects, and the model selection based on the Hausman test. The analysis revealed that the board size consistently showed a negative effect on human capital efficiency and on the total intellectual capital (VAIC), with the board independence having an inverse effect on capital employed efficiency. Board gender diversity was not directly significant, but the firm size played an important moderating role between board size and human capital efficiency and between board diversity and capital employed efficiency and VAIC, indicating that the larger firms can better convert governance structures into intellectual capital benefits. This study contributes to understanding how the effectiveness of corporate governance in driving intellectual capital is contingent upon size. It informs policymakers on the need for differentiated governance frameworks and urges practitioners to view board structure and diversity as strategic tools rather than compliance obligations. This study contributes to the corporate governance literature by introducing firm size as a moderating variable in the governance-intellectual capital nexus in Ghana. It also shows the importance of disaggregating intellectual capital to better understand the governance mechanisms that matter most.