Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to investigate the association between the intellectual capital (IC) of firms and their financial performance. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses the Pulic framework, has an Asian focus, and draws on data from 150 publicly listed companies on the Singapore Exchange. It is an empirical study using partial least squares (PLS) for the data analysis. The paper tests four elements of IC and company performance. Findings -The findings show that: IC and company performance are positively related; IC is correlated to future company performance; the rate of growth of a company's IC is positively related to the company's performance; and the contribution of IC to company performance differs by industry.Research limitations/implications -The data sample is restricted to 150 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange between the years 2000 and 2002. Practical implications -IC is an area of interest to numerous parties, such as shareholders, institutional investors, scholars, policymakers and managers. The findings help to embolden modern day managers to better harness and manage IC. Originality/value -The study of IC has undergone a number of stages, from early conscious awareness efforts to classification of IC, and to the search for appropriate measures of IC. This paper builds on the current research on IC and provides empirical evidence on the relevance of IC (as measured by the Pulic model) to the financial performance of companies.

This paper reviews the literature pertaining to developments in the field of Intellectual Capital (IC). Four areas are examined: definitions, models, measures and applications of IC to business and management issues. As an emerging field of study, IC has undergone a number of development stages. The first stage witnessed efforts to raise awareness of the importance and potential of IC. The second saw a consolidation of the concept that established research into IC as a legitimate undertaking. A subsequent stage sought appropriate measures of IC, and yet a further stage saw the applications of research and measures of IC to business and management issues.Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to serve as a useful reference for anyone embarking on research into IC. It provides a succinct summary of the seminal works on this research area.Design/methodology/approach -The paper reviews the seminal literature arranges it into a chronology of the evolving research into IC.Findings -The findings show that IC has undergone a number of development stages from definitions, models through to measures and applications of IC to business and management issues.Practical implications -IC is an area of interest to numerous parties, including shareholders, institutional investors, scholars, policymakers and managers. This paper serves as a useful reference on the stages of development of IC and the applications to business and management issues.Originality/value -The study of IC has undergone a number of stages, from early conscious awareness efforts, to classification of IC and to the search for appropriate measures of IC. This paper provides a taxonomy on IC research as suggestions about future research directions.

The strikes of the 1890s have often been depicted as a watershed in Australian industrial relations history because of their long-term impact on theformation of the Labor Party and the introduction of compulsory arbitration legislation. Whether these strikes were the cause, rather than a catalyst, of such developments, they did result in legislation giving unions a greater degree of legal encouragement and protection than had previously existed. This paper argues that the continuous existence afforded unions by this legislation made it desirable for employers to organize into permanent associations. This form of organization contrasted with the previously transient associations designed to deal with unions on an ad hoc basis. These employer associations (which should not be confused with trade associations) spearheaded employers' opposition at the industrial, parliamentary and judicial levels against the new industrial legislation, especially that seeking to introduce compulsory arbitration. The paper argues that, until 1906, although employers had been unsuccessful in keeping compulsory arbitration legislation off the statute books in two states and at the Commonwealth level, they had been successful in restricting the scope and operations of those arbitration systems.

This paper argues that public policy changes towards industry protection are the underlying causes of the major industrial relations changes that are currently taking place. The operation the tariff agencies and industrial tribunals gave rise to a New Protection environment that conditioned wage outcomes and employment relations. The reduction in industry protection has reduced the scope for New Protection processes and outcomes, and has necessitated a re-evaluation of wages policy and labour costs.

Such a view of the institution [collective bargaining], which included this primitive theory of its growth and structure, ignored any positive interest on the part of employers. After all, employers could hardly be expected to welcome a *Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Relations, University of New South Wales. The author would like to thank K. Hancock, W. Hotchkiss, and an anonymous referee for comments on an earlier draft. Errors of fact or interpretation remain the author's sole responsibility.