Intellectual Capital and Measurement Methods: Some Specific Contributions from the Literature
Authors: Ramada Oscar 
Published: April 2022

In the topic of intellectual capital, one of the most important elements is the ways to measure it, along with its definition and the calculation of its value. These 3 elements, together, constitute a triad, sequential, which serves as a starting point for further developments and, thus, to broaden scientific knowledge in the area.This same triad has not gathered, in the scientific community, convergences regarding it. Therefore, it appears that relevant research exhibits divergent directions.Most of the relevant literature follows directions in which the intellectual capital appears associated with other topics, such as innovation, business performance, competitive advantages, the effects on activity sectors such as healthcare, banking, in particular.It is about knowing something about what is eminently intangible and hence, it is, simultaneously, of greater difficulty and greater importance for other subsequent knowledge, such as the value of assets (intangible and also tangible), their variation (whether it increases or decreases) and, possible transaction, as if it were any other product and/or service.The relevant literature on the topic, per se or associated, has denoted some research directions, conceptions, and approaches carried out (quantitative or qualitative) that do not prove to be the most scientifically adequate.In fact, it is visible, mainly, at the level of the sample and the method chosen to carry out the research that is carried out, limited in its dimension.With regard to the method used, the instruments, methods and techniques often turn out to be complex and multidisciplinary, making it difficult to understand the procedures and the discussion, outcomes and conclusions.But what is most remarkable is that the intellectual capital appears as if it were a concept that is situated in the static domain and not the dynamic, that is, it is seen as a state rather than as a process.Any and all knowledge is, construction, deconstruction and reconstruction. In Information Science, this is not the case. Therefore, this constitutes a research problem that must be addressed through approaches that respond to the aforementioned triad and adopt a dynamic view of intellectual capital.In this context, the expansion of scientific knowledge occurs in a more perceptible and objective way, allowing to know its value. The knowledge of intellectual capital becomes a more developed and deepened topic with contributions that reveal what is intended to be achieved: knowing its value.Besides knowing what it consists of, what methods are there to measure it? And this in the context of a dynamic perspective, prospective, as a process and not as a state (little or nothing evolutionary in time). As a state, the intellectual capital is nothing more than something timeless and always the same, regardless of the time in which we find ourselves.If future research directions on the intellectual capital are to respond to the triad, as a (dynamic) process and not as a (static) state, this will be on the right path. Otherwise, almost everything about it remains unknown and the scientific knowledge in the referred topic is not clear.