Towards ‘An Intellectual Capital-Based View of the Firm’: Origins and Nature

Gregorio Martín-de-Castro, Miriam Delgado-Verde, Pedro López-Sáez, José E. Navas-López

Journal of Business Ethics · 2011 · Volume 98 · Issue 4

Abstract

Economic and social activities are undergoing radical changes, which can be labelled as ‘knowledge economy and/or society’. In this sense, intellectual capital (IC), or knowledge assets, as the fourth factor of production, is replacing the other ones – job, land and capital. This article tries to offer the origins and nature of the firm’s IC that can be labelled as ‘An Intellectual Capital-Based View of the Firm Competition’. This framework tries to highlight the strategic role of different intangible assets like talented and committed workers, cultural values, or long-term relationships among the firm and its stakeholders – customers, allies, suppliers and society in general – in gaining and sustaining competitive advantages, being the management of IC a key issue in the management agenda.

Keywords

intellectual capital, knowledge management, human capital, relational capital, state of the art

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