Friday
Today, knowledge and intellectual capital plays a principal role in the delivery of corporate performance. This importance is reflected in the fact that companies, without the force of any regulations, start to measure their knowledge and intellectual capital, they even produce and externally publish intellectual capital statements; accounting guidelines are being developed and standards are being questioned and reviewed; and governments are beginning to measure the intellectual capital of cities, regions, and countries. Companies and investors alike are trying to measure their intellectual capital and the value of knowledge. However, it seems as if the field has reached a point of maturity where we need to address issues around taxonomies and research methodology. In a recent special issue of a leading journal in the field (Marr & Chatzkel, 2004) these issues were highlighted. The concept of knowledge or intellectual capital is often poorly defined and is addressed from multiple disciplinary perspectives which all give it slightly different meanings.