Back to the future of intellectual capital research: a systematic literature review
ISSN: 0025-1747
Article publication date: 28 June 2018
Issue publication date: 23 October 2018
Abstract
Purpose
For better mapping the path of intellectual capital (IC) research, the purpose of this paper is to selectively review empirical studies of IC published, and identify theories, components and three dimensions of analysis: national IC (NIC), regional IC (RIC) and organizational IC (OIC).
Design/methodology/approach
The systematic literature review (SLR) subject to analysis is based on empirical studies made between 1960 and 2016, and focuses on three dimensions of analysis: NIC, RIC and OIC. Four research questions were designed, using the following databases, namely, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar, for data collection purposes.
Findings
The SLR unveils a multidimensional taxonomy for measuring and classifying the type of IC applicable to the different levels of analysis and provides some recommendations for future studies of NIC, RIC and OIC, by outlining the need for clear definitions of components and measures of IC and identifying strengths, limitations and future research avenues.
Originality/value
In order to fill the gap found in the literature and the non-existence of a study clarifying the multiple dimensions of analysis of IC, this SLR makes a twofold, original contribution to the literature on management: providing an SLR of the main empirical studies dealing with different units of analysis; and identifying a multidimensional taxonomy for measuring and classifying the type of IC applicable to the different levels of analysis.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper forms part of a special section Special Review Issue.
The authors are grateful to the editor and the anonymous reviewers for providing very constructive and useful comments that enabled us to make additional efforts to improve the clarity and quality of our research. The first author acknowledges the support given by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and by Programa Operacional Capital Humano (POCH): financing co-participated by Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) and funds of the Ministério da Educação e da Ciência (MEC) (grant number SFRH/BD/107927/2015). The second author also acknowledges the grant given by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia: SFRH/BSAB/127908/2016.
Citation
Pedro, E., Leitão, J. and Alves, H. (2018), "Back to the future of intellectual capital research: a systematic literature review", Management Decision, Vol. 56 No. 11, pp. 2502-2583. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-08-2017-0807
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited