Title: How do firms measure their intellectual capital? Defining an empirical model based on firm practices

Authors: Isabelle Guerrero

Addresses: Faculte des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion, Universite de la Mediterranee, 14, rue Puvis De Chavannes, 13001 Marseille, France

Abstract: This paper examines the cases of ten Northern European companies that have set up accounts on their intellectual capital (IC): Ramboll, Sparekassen Nordjylland, Consultus, Skandia, ABB, SCAA, Telia, PLS Consult, Sparbanken and WM Data. I hypothesise that there is a strong correlation between IC and financial capital, i.e. between knowledge accumulation and efficiency, and try to highlight how knowledge influences financial performance through the intellectual capital measurements made by the companies under study. I propose an explanatory model of the relationship between IC measurement and financial performance. The features of the model are identified through three key questions: What is the purpose of IC measurement? How is the measurement system structured? What are the current or potential effects of the measurement?

Keywords: knowledge; intellectual capital; performance measurement system; intangible assets.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2003.003503

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2003 Vol.4 No.2/3, pp.178 - 193

Published online: 12 Sep 2003 *

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