It seems that this difficulty has regrettably discouraged investment in intellectual capital. Not withstanding this,there cannot be any reasonable doubt that intellectual capital is very valuable. Just imagine that your company is suddenly struck by a knowledge blight that erases all your corporate knowledge from the storage media including the employees' minds. The difference between the market values of the company before and after the blight struck is the value of the company's intellectual capital. You might wish to continue the thought experiment by estimating how much will it cost to recreate the lost intellectual capital and to restore it to its original functionality, and you will have a measure of the lost value.
Worthy efforts are underway to ascribe monetary value to intellectual capital.
The difference between market value and asset value as recorded on the balance sheet has been used as a measure of the intangibles which include corporate knowledge. Brands, another intangible asset, are routinely evaluated and paid for handsomely in business transactions. Intellectual capital manifests its value by how it is managed to enhance the performance and development of a company on the route to achieve its strategic intent. For any company it is possible to assess the contribution of intellectual capital to increased market share and profits through new products and faster product developments,through cost reduction,and by positioning the company for seizing future opportunities. The management system that is in place to leverage intellectual capital can measure continually its effectiveness by company-specific metrics, and demonstrate the real business worth of intellectual capital .