Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management: Perspectives on Measuring Knowledge

Abstract

Abstract There is one leitmotif reflected in many contributions to this handbook, namely, that intangible assets are rapidly becoming an important indicator of the future performance of a country or a company. In Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and other countries, for example, the total investment in intangible assets since the mid-198os has exceeded the investment in physical assets (BMFT 1996; Deiaco, Hornell, and Vickery 1990; OECD 1996). In the United States, expenditures on information technology ($n2 billion) surpassed expenditures for production technology ($107 billion; see Stewart 1997: 21) for the first time in 1991. These figures indicate a growing difference between the market value of a company and the cost of replacing its physical and financial assets.