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Intellectual capital represents an integral part of evaluation in many companies. Applied methods do not consider three crucial aspects of intellectual capital, which are up-to-date research topics, dynamic nature, and internal perspective. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to propose a novel intellectual capital self-evaluation method, addressing this issue.

Analysis of topics is based on collocation, correspondence, and co-occurrence analyses. Method construction stage is grounded in knowledge processes and deploys a panel of expert evaluations, Saaty’s decision matrix, based on pairwise comparison and the stakeholders’ estimates.

A new method for evaluation enables complex internal view on the status of intellectual capital in an organisation, as it is based on up-to-date research topics, a self-evaluation approach, and the dynamics of knowledge processes.

The list of applied criteria is extendable, and the set weights are adjusted. Estimates are subjective in their nature. Provided results are tied with the specifics of self-evaluated organisations and cannot be used for inter-organisational comparison.

Presented system enables organisational self-evaluation, focussed on the complex and dynamic internal view, based on up-to-date topics. Despite the limitations, this self-evaluation can be conducted for various types of economic systems.

Proposed method is patterned on the current research topics and offers dynamic- and internal-oriented approach to self-evaluation of intellectual capital status.

The purpose of this paper is to ask how the EFQM Excellence Model and organizations' self‐assessment practice could contribute to the managerial and quantification efforts of intellectual capital (IC) and how indicators and measures applied during self‐assessment can be connected to well‐known intellectual capital measuring models such as Sveiby's Intangible Asset Monitor.

The method applied highlights the potentials in the EFQM Excellence Model's criteria system to measure specific IC elements by studying the self‐assessment practice of 31 Hungarian National Quality Award (NQA) winners.

The EFQM Excellence Model is a suitable approach for characterizing the management and measurement of human, customer and structural capital within the organization.

Corporations following regular self‐assessment practice have the ability to measure most of their intangibles, at least those which serve the traceability of strategic purposes and internal measuring objectives. IC measurement can be regarded as part of organizational excellence.

The criteria system of the EFQM Model makes synergic effects between single IC elements visible. Due to regular and systematic self‐assessments those IC elements are highlighted which support the execution of current strategic purposes. These fortify the contribution of IC management to strategy deployment.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and validation of an instrument for measuring intellectual capital in the academic research context. The current research context describes a new paradigm of scientific production characterized by interdisciplinarity, heterogeneity and the intensification of the relations between the generators of knowledge. In this scenario, traditional measures of intellectual capital do not capture all the variables that make up the environment in which the research activities are carried out. This transformation of research processes suggests the need to bring theories of organizational behavior, more appropriate to an organizational context, to the study of scientific context. Thus, the paper contextualizes the intellectual capital approach, thereby explaining how the different attributes that build it influence scientific productivity and providing a measurement instrument to evaluate relative levels of intellectual capital in an academic research context.

The scale was designed through a double qualitative–quantitative scale development process. The literature on intellectual capital does not provide strong theoretical support for the definition of a specific set of items to be applied in the specific academic research context. Consequently, the scale constructs and observable variables were initially conceptualized through a Delphi panel. This initial set of indicators was empirically validated through a second quantitative stage to a sample of 1,798 Spanish academics. Given that no prior published studies have examined the construct validity of the proposed scale, and the proposed scale is not based on other previously validated scales, the authors used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to assess the internal consistency, using Cronbach’s α to determine reliability.

Drawing on the evidence obtained from a double qualitative–quantitative process, a scale consisting of 47 items was proposed to measure the three dimensions of intellectual capital, namely, the researcher’s human capital, as well as the nature of the social capital and organizational capital of the team in which the scholar is integrated. The process of identifying and validating indicators of intellectual capital allowed the authors to identify certain intangible elements that are key in the research process and that, therefore, determine scientific productivity. Thus, the proposed scale contributes by conceptualizing new variables that could be used to deepen and broaden the study of the determinants of research performance. The contextualization of intellectual capital approach can also help to assess the value of intangibles, offering an external reporting tool and making universities’ social contributions more visible to public and private stakeholders, justifying the efforts made by societies in the generation of academic knowledge.

The empirical analysis was carried out with an initial sample of 1,798 Spanish scholars. The validation of the scale should therefore be confirmed in different national contexts, with larger data sets. Likewise, the use of longitudinal data sets could help to study the effects of intellectual capital in academic research, thereby contributing to the ongoing debate on the determinants of research performance.

From a practical perspective, the instrument could be considered both as a management and an external reporting tool, providing a self-assessment instrument of the levels of intellectual capital. As a management tool, a specific measure of intellectual capital in an academic context could help to identify training needs, the implementation of practices that encourage the capability for building research networks and the development of reports with intellectual capital-related inputs for the justification of the resources received. At an institutional level, the proposed set of indicators also identifies the attributes of scholars linked to higher scientific performance, and the scale could be used as an instrument for selection processes in academic institutions, to develop practices related to the distribution of workload or the publication of intellectual capital indicators of its researchers in a healthy exercise of transparency.

There is a clear recognition that strategic management models are frameworks for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In this sense, excellence models are directly related to intellectual capital models. The purpose of this paper is to trace and define the relation between several EFQM criteria and the components of intellectual capital. In light of the analysis, the EFQM model may be considered as tool for the governance of knowledge.

This paper focuses on a conceptual analysis of the relations among excellence and intellectual capital. The EFQM excellence model is considered as a suitable framework for the governance of organisational knowledge. In other words, EFQM model is revisited from an intellectual capital perspective. The revision of academic literature and logical analysis are the main methodological tools.

The study shows that intellectual capital is taken into account in the overarching framework of the EFQM model. In this sense it is possible to define relationships between each component of the intellectual capital navigators and those coming from the model.

This paper considers that the intellectual capital perspective is a key element that runs horizontally across the criteria of the EFQM excellence model.

The impact of knowledge management on the financial success of companies has not yet been properly researched. This paper aims to make a contribution by examining the relationship between sustainable sales growth and knowledge management activities in 108 Finnish small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

Data were generated from a questionnaire survey of 108 SMEs from different fields and thematic interviews with ten companies.

Higher levels of KM‐maturity were found to correlate positively with long‐term sustainable growth. Although Finnish SMEs display a surprisingly high awareness about KM, only a minor proportion of the sample firms has been able to benefit in terms of growth from their KM‐related activities. The results have implications for policy formulation in the field of SMEs, since half the Finnish SMEs in the sample do not grow. We found that the fast‐growing companies with high KM‐maturity are applying KM‐related activities in a comprehensive and balanced way, thereby raising question marks around the effectiveness of eclectic “KM implementations”.

This research was carried out in only one country and the results cannot be generalised. Furthermore, this study does not provide any information concerning the causal relationship of knowledge management and SME performance. Therefore, further studies in the field are needed.

The results from this study also suggest that SMEs might be able to shift into higher growth by applying a comprehensive KM‐approach incorporating all intangible assets equally.

This study provides new information concerning the relationship between knowledge management and small business performance.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the role of and relationships between human, structural and relational capital assets for strategic management in a farm business. In particular, it analyzes the interaction between human capital’s creativity skills and the introduction of climate-smart technologies for the competitiveness of the firm.

An explorative case study was conducted on one of the largest Italian farm businesses to gain an understanding of the drivers of intellectual capital (IC) and of their implications for strategic management. Full-time employees’ perception of the skills required to achieve strategic goals and their perception of whether they possessed these abilities were investigated to determine if an alignment was present. The skills were subsequently classified using the framework of Amabile (1988) into domain-relevant and creativity-relevant skills. Then, two linear regression models were used to investigate the effects of training on the acquisition of these two sets of skills.

The analysis confirmed the strategic role of interactions among human capital assets to effectively exploit the structural capital of the company. When investigating employees’ perceptions, a gap emerged about informatics capabilities and knowledge of soils. As the company’s investments in innovation are oriented to ICT technologies, the company could strengthen informatics training to enable its employees to implement effective innovation.

The paper contributes to the literature on IC by highlighting the role of interconnections of assets to align organizations with their strategic goals. Therefore, the provision of IC accounting contributes to the strategic management of human capital.

The present research aims to analyse the extent to which Italian public universities disclose intellectual capital (IC) information through the Integrated Plan and the main features of IC disclosure (ICD) in terms of form and location in the document.

Adopting a qualitative methodology, a content analysis is conducted to examine the level, form and location of ICD provided by a sample of 60 Italian public universities through the 2018-2020 integrated plans.

The results show a medium level of ICD in the Integrated Plan, with human capital being the category most disclosed. Information is principally provided in a quantitative form and is mainly found in the first two sections of the document (i.e. relating to the strategic framework and organisational performance).

The analysis is necessarily limited to a single period (2018-2020), because of the recent introduction of the guidelines of the Integrated Plan. However, the results may be beneficial to policymakers in determining the usefulness of this new tool in detecting information about intangible resources and can help universities’ governors and managers in defining adequate IC strategies to create value for the whole ecosystem.

The study makes an innovative contribution to the international debate about IC in universities in light of the fourth stage of IC research, exploring an emerging tool to detect whether it is able to convey IC information to the wide range of university stakeholders and to communicate the value universities contribute to society.

To communicate the development and results of strategic human resource management (HRM) research to the audit research community in order to stimulate audit research specific to HRM audits.

Prior research that served as impetus for this paper is discussed. The findings of other studies are presented to make a case for the business impact of strategic human resource management practices.

Studies on the competitive environment of firms, theoretical development in HRM, empirical work on the link between HRM practice and firm performance, and emerging models based on intellectual capital, suggest that there are compelling reasons for internal audit to devote substantial resources to the evaluation of strategic risk in HRM audits.

The literature is still developing. The literature presented here is not an exhaustive list and does not include all findings, but rather what we perceive to be the most important findings.

Both “high performance work systems” and “strategic fit” should guide internal audit in planning, designing audit programs, and executing strategic audits of human resources consistent with the risk management paradigm.

This paper bridges a gap between the human resource management literature and the internal auditing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of intellectual capital on the relationship between board governance and perceived firm financial performance.

This study was cross-sectional. Analyses were by SPSS and Analysis of Moment Structure on a sample of 128 firms.

The mediated model provides support for the hypothesis that intellectual capital mediates the relationship between board governance and perceived firm performance. while the direct relationship between board governance and firm financial performance without the mediation effect of intellectual capital was found to be significant, this relationship becomes insignificant when mediation of intellectual capital is allowed. Thus, the entire effect does not only go through the main hypothesised predictor variable (board governance) but majorly also, through intellectual capital. Accordingly, the connection between board governance and firm financial performance is very much weakened by the presence of intellectual capital in the model – confirming that the presence of intellectual capital significantly acts as a conduit in the association between board governance and firm financial performance. Overall, 36 per cent of the variance in perceived firm performance is explained. the error variance being 64 per cent of perceived firm performance itself.

The authors surveyed directors or managers of firms and although the influence of common methods variance was minimal, the non-existence of common methods bias could not be guaranteed. Although the constructs have been defined as precisely as possible by drawing upon relevant literature and theory, the measurements used may not perfectly represent all the dimensions. For example board governance concept (used here as a behavioural concept) is very much in its infancy just as intellectual capital is. Similarly the authors have employed perceived firm financial performance as proxy for firm financial performance. The implication is that the constructs used/developed can realistically only be proxies for an underlying latent phenomenon that itself is not fully measureable.

In considering the behavioural constructs of the board, a new integrative framework for board effectiveness is much needed as a starting point, followed by examining intellectual capital in firms whose mediating effect should formally be accounted for in the board governance – financial performance equation.

Results add to the conceptual improvement in board governance studies and lend considerable support for the behavioural perspective in the study of boards and their firm performance improvement potential. Using qualitative factors for intellectual capital to predict the perceived firm financial performance, this study offers a unique dimension in understanding the causes of poor financial performance. It is always a sign of a maturing discipline (like corporate governance) to examine the role of a third variable in the relationship so as to make meaningful conclusions.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the case for taking employee health and wellbeing into account in some way and to consider a range of objections that might be raised against such exercises.

The paper identifies the existence of a persistent sickness absence as a cause for concern for a range of stakeholders and how it might be accounted for in the light of recent developments within the intellectual capital field. Attention then turns to some of the difficulties such well meaning interventions might encounter, and briefly considers how a self‐accounting approach might in some part overcome these.

The paper finds that a programme of empirical research within the field of employee health and wellbeing is now required to ensure that employee health and wellbeing into account.

While predominantly a discursive contribution to the literature, the paper incorporates some discussion of innovative accounting interventions.

In contrast to viewing sickness absence from a cost perspective, the paper encourages stakeholders to embrace a wider spectrum of ways of seeing to better understand employee health and wellbeing issues in the work place.