Intellectual Capital and Bank Stability in Saudi Arabia: Navigating the Dynamics in a Transforming Economy

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In Abstark, there is no mention of Total Research Samples and new research

In the background, at least one reference should support the statement in each paragraph, and the novelty or urgency of the study is not explained.

The Grand Theory used has not been explained in the Literature Review and Hypothesis Development.

The references are still minimal and irrelevant, preferably from the last five years (Marr et al., 2003).

Hypothesis development in the section The Impact of Intellectual Capital on Bank Stability has not explained the relationship powerfully and the need for strengthening it with the same theory or research results.

The hypothesis of the Intellectual Capital Component and its Impact on Bank Stability is still widely supported by the results of research that is not updated, such as Wright et al., 1994), Edvinsson and Malone (1997), Dzinkowski (2000), Aivazian, Demirguc-Kunt, and Maksimovic (2001), Berger and DeYoung (1997), Koetter and Kolari (2005). chose to use research from the last five years.

 

Data collection requires a table of sampling criteria: This research covers all banks registered in Tadawul, except Samba Bank, which was eliminated after the merger into Saudi National Bank in 2021.

In Table 2. Descriptive statistics for all variables must be added to the n value (total sample).

The following three discussions need to be strengthened and developed with theory. CEE shows a positive coefficient with high statistical significance (Prob. = 0.0000), 660, which supports H1c, indicating that efficient use of financial and physical resources contributes positively to financial stability. The positive relationship between CEE and bank stability is 662, in line with Ullah et al. (2023) and Festa et al. (2020), which state that efficient capital deployment contributes to stability and consistency across various geographic regions and banking systems.

LEV is negatively related to financial stability and is very significant (Prob. 673 = 0.0000), indicating that a bank with greater leverage means the bank is less stable. The negative impact of leverage on stability is a well-known finding in the literature on financial stability, 675 supported by studies such as Bilgin et al. (2021) and Alshadadi and Deshmukh (2023), who 676 discuss the risks associated with high leverage. 677 Neither GGDP nor INF is statistically significant (Prob. > 0.05), indicating that they 678 do not substantially impact bank stability in this model. The influence of macroeconomic variables (GGDP and INF), which is not significant, is different from research such as Maria et al. (2022) and 680 Trabelsi & Mansour (2024), reflecting the disconnect between broader economic 681 trends and bank financial stability in that context.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. 

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I congratulate the author for her work. 

The article is well organized and structured, and the arguments and explanations are clear and convincing. Analyses are provided in an appropriate manner.

The research is good owerall, in my opinion some aspects need to be corrected, both in terms of form of expression and in terms of clarifying what the researcher wanted to highlight in this paper. Therefore, I ask the author to make the following changes:
Inclusion in the abstract:
- The main objective of the research and the methods used should be specified in the abstract for those interested.
1. Introduction:
- The reminder in the final part of the introduction should be developed regarding the steps taken in this research, as it is not explicitly
2. Research:
- It is not clear where the data comes from exactly, which is a possible source of error.  What criteria led to the selection of the ten banks? Why was data collected only until 2022 and not 2023?
- I did not find in this research the main objective that led the author in this research direction, the software and the succinct way of data processing.
- The equations are not presented according to the journal's requirements and should be placed in the required form.
- Tables do not follow the form required by the journal template, and should be redone. You also need to revise the description of the tables which again does not conform.
3. Conclusions
- Must be clear and concise. Researcher have generalist somme generalist conclusions.
- Need to be improved with comparison of this research with other relevant research in the field.
4. References
Citations are not compliant and must be redone according to IEEE style journal specifications.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. Clarify Causal Pathways: Expand on how each component of intellectual capital—Human Capital Efficiency, Structural Capital Efficiency, and Capital Employed Efficiency—directly impacts bank stability. Detail specific mechanisms or processes involved.

2. Address Methodological Choices: Provide clearer justification for the use of fixed effects and cross-section random effects models. Discuss any potential limitations or biases these models might introduce.

3. Enhance Practical Implications: Offer more detailed and practical recommendations for banking professionals and policymakers based on your findings. Suggest strategies for managing intellectual capital effectively in the Saudi banking sector.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript.

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In the abstract, the following sentence needs to be explained in more detail: the research uses novel variables related to these contexts. What new variables mean, and the novelty is explained better.

The following sentence in the discussion needs to be developed further, paragraphs 5-7 sentences: This is a common finding in the literature, as excessive leverage can increase risk, supported by studies such as those by [33,59,70].

References in bibliography numbers 4, 8, and 9 need to be adjusted to the template

Author Response

Thank you very much for the time and effort.

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors answered my questions in a good manner.

Author Response

Thanks, I found no more suggestions