Intellectual Capital as a Factor of Sustainable Regional Competitiveness

Sustainable competitive advantage is a widely explored topic at the organizational level. Although, regions care about competitiveness as much as organizations, because it leads to improved welfare and economic performance. However, sustainable regional competitiveness is still an ambiguous concept. On the one hand, it considers long lasting economic growth and on the other hand, it focuses on the sustainability and well-being of upcoming generations. This paper considers both aspects. Intellectual capital, considered to be the foundation for competitive growth, is selected as a basis for the analysis. It is evaluated as a factor involved in regional competitiveness. Sustainable regional competitiveness in this paper is defined based on the World Economic Forum framework, the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index, and the Global Green Economy Index. The aim of the paper is to identify the interlinks between intellectual capital and sustainable regional competitiveness. The paper is based on a literature review and index analysis. The findings show that intellectual capital is involved in almost all factors influencing regional competitiveness and it is even more important for sustainable regional competitiveness. It can be concluded that the interlinks between intellectual capital and sustainable regional competitiveness are strong and inseparable.