The evolving research on intellectual capital

Abstract

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.

Barriers to innovation: the case of Ghana and implications for developing countries

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A dynamic approach to real-time performance measurement in design projects

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A Path Model “Why-What-How-When” to Implement an IC Reporting

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