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Intellectual Capital as a Factor of Competitiveness of Modern Companies
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2. Literature Review
The theory of intellectual capital originated from the theory of human capital (1962) and has been considered in
the papers of such foreign economists as A. Brooking, L. Edvinsson, M. Malone, T. Stewart, and many others. In
Russia, the development of intellectual capital theory can be seen in the publications of such scholars as B. Leon-
tiev, S. Kurgansky, V. Inosemzev, A. Pankruhin, I. Prosvirina etc.
Every economist gives his vision for a particular problem. As a result, the intellectual capital theory doesn’t have
unified concepts: there is no single notion of its definition or structure, etc. Moreover, despite the fact that the con-
cept of “intellectual capital” has long existed, it has still not become customary in the world, especially in Russia.
Very often, the concept of “intellectual capital” is used along with the concepts of “knowledge”, “human capital”,
“cognitive capital”, using as synonyms by the absence of unambiguous interpretations (Afonin, 2005).
Thus, according to L. Edvinsson, intellectual capital is the company’s ability to transform knowledge and intan-
gible assets in the factors that create the proper value (Edvinsson, 2002).
Another economist А. Brooking believed that intellectual capital referred to intangible assets, without which com-
panies couldn’t exist and increase competitive advantage. He considered the intellectual capital as the aggregate
market assets, human assets, intellectual property and infrastructure (Brooking, 1996a). Under human assets are
meant the totality of the collective knowledge of the company’s employees, their creativity, problem-solving skills,
leadership, entrepreneurial and managerial skills (Brooking, 1996b).
From the authors point of view the most appropriate approach is presented in the book “Managing intellectual
capital in practice”. Its authors, G. Roos, S. Pike and L. Fernstrom defined intellectual capital as all non-cash and
non-material resources, fully or partially controlled by the organization and involved in creating values. Under the
“intellectual capital” they understood resources of intellectual capital, which increased the potential opportuni-
ties of organizations to create value (Roos, 2006). The proposed structure contains the following three elements
(Figure 1)
The relational capital includes all the relationships that establish the organization: with customers, consumers,
intermediaries, representatives, suppliers, partners, owners, creditors, etc. Relationship resources heavily depend
on the human factor, are not owned by the organization and cannot be wholly controlled.
Organizational capital is a kind of intellectual capital designed as the result of intellectual activity incl. patents,
brands, licenses, training programs for employees, etc. This all the things that remain in the organization when
employees left the building, but which you cannot find on the balance sheet (L. Edvinsson).
Intellectual capital
Relational capital
Organizational capital
Human capital
Figure 1:
Intellectual Capital Structure by G.Roos
Roos G., Pike S., Fernstrem L. (2006) Managing intellectual capital in practice, Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann.