Challenging the IC Theory: Suggestions for Some Ways Forward

Abstract

Understanding how knowledge and related resources has permeated scholasticism and an intellectual capital (IC)-based view of the firm, and it has gained increasing weight in contemporary management literature. Manifold impacts of IC on organizational performance have been widely evidenced with management mechanisms for various IC dimensions to be found in most established organizations. As research is a strongly path-dependent activity, it seems natural that IC research may lean on classical frameworks and conceptualizations from prior decades. However, this consideration may be problematic, since large-scale changes in companies’ operating environments, such as digitalization, a crisis in sustainability, as well as reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic through remote-working initiatives. Consequently, call for new knowledge resources comes into play naturally. In this paper, an argument is made that the normative approaches for conceptualizing IC and its performance relevance must be updated. Further, we suggest that the new post-pandemic world of enterprise calls for novel understandings relevant to IC. To spur new thinking that offers a way forward, a theoretical model is proposed for a revised understanding of IC and its role in organizational viability. Important new issues are examined as related to various IC elements. The paper contributes to IC research by constructing a revised model of IC useful for generating topical research models suitable for development and testing in future theoretical and empirical studies. A set of potential research questions is outlined to guide additional research.

IC Theory and Public Healthcare

“…Moreover, the share of temporary agency nurses and doctors is remarkable. These observations support the need for further analysis of the implication of external or short-term workforce on organizational culture, trust, and organizational structure, as Kianto & Cabrilo (2022) stated.…”

“…Digital competence was proposed as a newly emerging feature of human capital (Kianto & Cabrilo, 2022), including abilities, skills, and attitudes enabling work in the digital era (Murawski & Bick, 2017). While digitalization is also a major driver of change in healthcare, it is quite surprising that in our review the research relating to the role of IC in digitalization remained quite minor.…”

“…Since little research has been done on this topic in the public HC context, the specificities of the context should be considered. Kianto & Cabrilo (2022) highlighted earlier the need for the reconceptualization of intellectual capital theory. While their proposals were largely based on findings from private sector organizations, our research complements these findings with the public sector view.…”

“…Biswas, 2023). Kianto and Cabrilo (2022) also proposed that gig work and other contingent work should be acknowledged as an important aspect of human capital. Gig-workers are not common in the public healthcare sector, but it is a well-known phenomenon in Finland that a significant part of the administrative development work of public healthcare organizations is done by external specialists (e.g., consultants, hired project managers etc.).…”

Towards a Deeper Understanding of Intellectual Capital

“…The authors expressed particular concern with respect to the effect of changes that may be driven by the development of digital tools enabling the collection, analysis, and communication of digital data and the increasing digitization of and access to potential sources of knowledge. This section attempts to consider some of the questions posed by Kianto et al (2022) and contribute to the discussion on the potential effects of digitization and digital tools on the conceptualization and articulation of IC. The final section provides some brief recommendations for organizations seeking to adjust to an increasingly digitized, information and communication technology intensive environment or use increasingly complex digital tools.…”