Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Intellectual Capital

Human Capital and Relational Capital Dynamics Within a
University
Nicolae Al. Pop, Adrian Tantau, Corina Pelau and Irina Bena
Academy <strong>of</strong> Economic Studies Bucharest, Romania
nicolae_al_pop@yahoo.com
ad_tantau@yahoo.com
corinapelau@yahoo.com
irina.bena@gmail.com
Abstract: One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most important aspects for <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> intellectual capital <strong>of</strong> a university is <strong>the</strong>
quality <strong>of</strong> its human capital and its capability to build relations. One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se relations is <strong>the</strong> one between <strong>the</strong>
students and <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essors. This relationship is important because only by a good communication between
<strong>the</strong>se parties, <strong>the</strong> students can increase <strong>the</strong>ir performances both at university and in <strong>the</strong>ir future job and
contribute by this to <strong>the</strong> image <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> university. Especially in a time, where competition between universities
becomes more intense, it is important to keep a good relation with its students, because <strong>the</strong>y influence <strong>the</strong> image
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> university and also its success. The premise for a good relation with its students is achieving <strong>the</strong>ir
satisfaction. Satisfied students are <strong>the</strong> ones, who recommend <strong>the</strong> university to o<strong>the</strong>rs. For building a relational
capital, especially <strong>the</strong> satisfaction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> students with <strong>the</strong>ir relation to <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essors is very important. This
article presents <strong>the</strong> perception <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> students regarding <strong>the</strong>ir relation and evaluation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essors <strong>of</strong> a
university and it is based on a satisfaction study done within a university from Romania. Besides this, it presents
also <strong>the</strong> impact and <strong>the</strong> influence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relation on <strong>the</strong> general image <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> university. Within <strong>the</strong>
study <strong>the</strong>re are analyzed aspects like <strong>the</strong> competences <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essors, <strong>the</strong> teaching style, pedagogical skills,
implication <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essors in <strong>the</strong> courses and seminars, attitude <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essors towards students,
communication, availability and <strong>the</strong>ir impact on <strong>the</strong> overall satisfaction <strong>of</strong> students with <strong>the</strong> university and <strong>the</strong>ir
willingness to recommend or to continue <strong>the</strong>ir studies at <strong>the</strong> same university. It is also analyzed <strong>the</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> all
<strong>the</strong>se elements on <strong>the</strong> performance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> students. In <strong>the</strong> end <strong>the</strong>re are presented <strong>the</strong> conclusions and <strong>the</strong>
recommendations for <strong>the</strong> university and <strong>the</strong> measures it should take in order to increase <strong>the</strong> dynamics <strong>of</strong> its
human and relational capital.
Keywords: relational capital, human capital, intellectual capital, satisfaction, relation
1. Introduction
The competition on <strong>the</strong> market for educational services has increased in <strong>the</strong> past years because <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> new dynamics in this field. On one hand <strong>the</strong> shrinking demographics influences in a negative way
<strong>the</strong> demand for educational services. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand <strong>the</strong> appearance <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r forms <strong>of</strong> education
such as private universities or training institution has diversified <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fer on this market and
consequently increased <strong>the</strong> competition. In order to face <strong>the</strong>se changes <strong>the</strong> management <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
universities has to take measures in order to maintain <strong>the</strong>ir position on <strong>the</strong> market and also to keep its
main customers, <strong>the</strong> students.
Offering high quality educational services are premises for generating and enhancing customer
loyalty. Satisfied students are more likely to engage passionately in <strong>the</strong>ir studying activities and to
keep <strong>the</strong>ir contact with <strong>the</strong> university by ei<strong>the</strong>r enrolling in Master or Doctorate Programmes or
involving <strong>the</strong>mselves in different Alumni activities. Both directions are crucial to <strong>the</strong> construction <strong>of</strong>
institutional image and reputation. They generate positive word <strong>of</strong> mouth and social media content
and thus help attract not only new students but also sponsorship funding and diverse projects.
Within <strong>the</strong> mentioned framework <strong>the</strong> construct <strong>of</strong> intellectual capital <strong>of</strong>fers a holistic approach to <strong>the</strong>
allocation <strong>of</strong> intangible resources with <strong>the</strong> aim <strong>of</strong> gaining competitive advantage. The present paper
focuses on students’ satisfaction as an indicator <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> third dimension (external dimension) <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
intellectual capital model. It analyses <strong>the</strong> satisfaction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> students <strong>of</strong> a university with its teaching
staff.
The research aimed to evaluate <strong>the</strong> performance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essors for <strong>the</strong> teaching part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir
activity and to determine <strong>the</strong> overall satisfaction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> students with <strong>the</strong> university, as a premise for
future collaboration. There are several methods and instruments used to evaluate and monitor <strong>the</strong>
research activity done by pr<strong>of</strong>essors, but it is also important to measure <strong>the</strong>ir performance at courses
and seminars as students are a university’s direct customers for educational service. In order to
determine <strong>the</strong> mentioned teaching performance, <strong>the</strong> study was done with <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> analysing <strong>the</strong>
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