The intellectual capital (IC) community has entered a phase of consolidation. This article contributes to this consolidation process by clarifying existing motives (why) and proposed methods (how) for valuing or measuring IC. In general, the field of IC performance measurement has paid little attention to organizational diagnosis and the “why” question. It is often unclear what the organizational problem is the methods intent to solve. Many methods for the valuation or measurement of Intellectual Capital can be characterized as “solutions in search of a cause”. Another area that requires clarification is the “how” question. There seems to be confusion about the distinction between valuation and measurement. The distinction is fundamental yet not recognized in the field. Based on a literature review this article presents a classification of motives and solutions and plots ten existing methods in a “why” by “how” matrix.
Metaphors are at the basis of our understanding of reality. Using the theory of metaphor developed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980, 1999) this paper analyses common metaphors used in the intellectual capital and knowledge management literatures. An analysis of key works by Davenport & Prusak (2000), Nonaka &Takeuchi (1995), andStewart (1991) suggests that at least 95 percent of all statements about either knowledge or intellectual capital are based on metaphors. The paper analyses the two metaphors that form the basis for the concept of intellectual capital: 'Knowledge as a Resource' and 'Knowledge as Capital', both of which derive their foundations from the industrial age. The paper goes into some of the implications of these findings for the theory and practice of intellectual capital. Common metaphors used in conceptualising abstract phenomena in traditional management practices unconsciously reinforce the established social order. The paper concludes by asking whether we need new metaphors to better understand the mechanisms of the knowledge economy, hence allowing us to potentially change some of the more negative structural features of contemporary society.
This position paper addresses the way knowledge is conceptualised in knowledge management (KM) literature and practice. Using the work of Lakoff and Johnson on metaphors it will show how people use metaphors to think and talk about knowledge. In KM literature at least 22 different metaphors for knowledge are used. Further research shows that these metaphors are primarily Western metaphors while in Eastern philosophy many other metaphors for knowledge are used. The choice of metaphors for knowledge has great influence about the way we think about KM. They determine what we diagnose as KM problems in organisations and what we develop as KM solutions. To illustrate this, this paper presents the results of an exercise set up to determine the effect of metaphors on KM approaches in which two challenging metaphors for knowledge were used: knowledge as water and knowledge as love.
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