智慧资本

title: 定义.
content: 在管理学和经济学中不同的理论流派,对于「智慧资本」的定义皆有所不同。不过,对于智慧资本属于无形资产的定义是无争议的。对公司而言,通常将人力资本、教学资本和个人资本视为智慧资本的组成元素,智慧资本对公司的效益便是为公司产生智慧产权,如商标、专利和著作权等。  相对于大众常听见的名词,如社会资本或金融资本等,智慧资本比较不为人所熟知。因为智慧资本并非审计类型的资本,很难将其执行成效数据化成为财务报表的一部分。  由于不同产业所关注的焦点不同,智慧资本一词大多数被应用于资讯科技、创新研究、技术移转,和其他与科技、标准和创投资本相关的领域。尤其特别盛行于1995年到2000年间,用来解释网络泡沫化的情形。
title: 发展概况.
content: 由于目前对于智慧是否可被定义为资产仍有争议。智慧资本的一词和其本质在未来的发展中,可能不会改变,但也可能其意义转变,并跟其他的词汇结合,如品牌资本。  1969年,首位呼吁社会重视智慧资本的学者,是加拿大经济学者约翰·加尔布雷斯。他在写给同侪Michal Kalecki的文章里表示:「我不晓得你有多了解我们现今的这个社会,是由过去数十年来,你所贡献的智慧资本而形成如今的风貌。」(I wonder if you realize how much those of us the world around have owed to the intellectual capital you have provided over these last decades.)  1990年代,智慧资本一词,在管理学领域已经是老生常谈的名词。当时,智慧资本管理成为知识长(Chief Knowledge Officer)的管辖范围。  1991年,智慧资本有了突破性的发展。由于财富 (杂志)编辑Thomas Stewart在杂志里讨论与智慧资本相关的议题,使得Thomas Stewart成为智慧资本的先驱者,而《财富》也扮演着智慧资本的重要推手。从1991年之后,他陆续搜集、整理有关智慧资本的资料,并于1997年发表著作《Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations》。在此著作中,Thomas Stewart对智慧资本一词进行解释,提供组织和管理智慧资本的分类架构(taxonomy)。Thomas Stewart定义智慧资本如同智慧物件,包含知识、资讯、知识产权、和经验,而且这些元素若能适当地使用,发挥综效,可进而创造财富。  至此,之后的研究,多依循着Thomas Stewart所提供的分类架构,进一步阐述、调整与研究。举例来说,GartnerGroup在2001年到2002年间所进行一系列的研究,以及Nick Bontis的学术论文,其后发表在《Intellectual Capital》。他们参考Thomas Stewart的方法论,而稍作调整:智慧资本包含:「人力资本」—指员工的能力与素质;「结构资本」—Bontis认为结构资本是非人力资讯的结合体(the non-human storehouses of information),而GartnerGroup则扩大该词的意义,将组织知识也纳入结构资本里;「关系资本」—镶嵌在商业网络中的知识。

Summary: 目前对于智慧资本(Intellectual capital)的定义还没有一致的说法,不过一般学者认为,凡能够提升公司竞争优势,或是能产生出超过公司账面的价值的无形资产,都可泛称为智慧资本。

Intellectual capital: Intellectual capital is the intangible value of a business, covering its people (human capital), the value relating to its relationships (relational capital), and everything that is left when the employees go home (structural capital), of which intellectual property (IP) is but one component. It is the sum of everything everybody in a company knows that gives it a competitive edge. The term is used in academia in an attempt to account for the value of intangible assets not listed explicitly on a company's balance sheets. On a national level intellectual capital refers to national intangible capital, NIC. A second meaning that is used in academia and was adopted in large corporations is focused on the recycling of knowledge via knowledge management and intellectual capital management (ICM). Creating, shaping and updating the stock of intellectual capital requires the formulation of a strategic vision, which blends together all three dimensions of intellectual capital within the organisational context through exploration, exploitation, measurement, and disclosure. Intellectual capital is used in the context of assessing the wealth of organizations. A metric for the value of intellectual capital is the amount by which the enterprise value of a firm exceeds the value of its tangible (physical and financial) assets. Directly visible on corporate books is capital embodied in its physical assets and financial capital; however all three make up the value of an enterprise. Measuring the real value and the total performance of intellectual capital's components is a critical part of running a company in the knowledge economy and Information Age. Understanding the intellectual capital in an enterprise allows leveraging of its intellectual assets. For a corporation, the result will optimize its stock price.