Title: Valuing investments in intellectual capital

Authors: Laurie J. Bassi, Mark E. Van Buren

Addresses: American Society for Training and Development, 1640 King St, Box 1443, Alexandria, VA 22313-2043 USA. American Society for Training and Development, 1640 King St, Box 1443, Alexandria, VA 22313-2043 USA

Abstract: The measurement and evaluation of the impacts and value of investments in intellectual capital is a critical obstacle to turning those investments into sources of competitive advantage. Yet, most organisations have only a dim notion of what they spend on intellectual capital let alone what they receive from those investments. As a result, many firms either under-invest or make ineffective investments in intellectual capital. Evidence from a cross-industry survey of over 500 organisations in the United States reveals preliminary, yet tantalising evidence of a link between investments in intellectual capital and organisational measures of performance, including market-to-book value. Particular attention is given to relationships between measures of human capital and organisational performance in a subset of 70 publicly traded firms.

Keywords: intellectual capital; knowledge management; human capital; measurement; evaluation; survey research; organisational performance; training and development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.1999.002779

International Journal of Technology Management, 1999 Vol.18 No.5/6/7/8, pp.414-432

Published online: 06 Jul 2003 *

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