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To analyse common metaphors used in the intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management literatures to conceptualise knowledge, in order to study the nature of the intellectual capital concept.

A textual analysis methodology is used to analyse texts from The Knowledge‐Creating Company by Nonaka and Takeuchi, Working Knowledge by Davenport and Prusak and “Brainpower” by Stewart, in order to identify underlying metaphors.

Over 95 per cent of the statements about knowledge identified are based on some kind of metaphor. The two dominant metaphors that form the basis for the concept of intellectual capital are “knowledge as a resource” and “knowledge as capital”.

Metaphors highlight certain characteristics and ignore others, so the IC community should ask itself what characteristics of knowledge the “knowledge as a resource” and “knowledge as capital” metaphors ignore.

Knowledge has no referent in the real world and requires metaphor to be defined, conceptualised, and acted upon. When using such metaphors we should become aware of their limitations as they steer us in certain directions and this may happen unconsciously. 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 paper is the first to highlight that intellectual capital is a metaphor and that the metaphorical nature of the concept has far reaching consequences.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the knowledge dynamics process based on the energy metaphor and the thermodynamics framework. Knowledge dynamics is analyzed as a transformational process that goes beyond the Newtonian logic used to date.

The research design is based on metaphorical thinking, critical analysis of the mostly used knowledge metaphors to date, and the logic of thermodynamics, which is the science of energy transformation.

Knowledge is conceived as a field, composed of three fundamental forms: rational knowledge, emotional knowledge and spiritual knowledge. Each form of knowledge can be transformed into another form, thus generating an iterative and interactive dynamics. The unity of knowledge is supported by the brain’s organic structure.

Understanding knowledge dynamics as a transformational process helps managers in their problem-solving and implementation of strategies in their organizations. Knowledge dynamics is fundamental to the learning and unlearning processes, and for stimulating innovation. Knowledge dynamics, as a transformational process, is influencing both organizational behavior as well as consumers’ behavior.

The present research uses for the first time a thermodynamics approach in understanding and explaining the knowledge dynamics, which is a transformational process of three fundamental forms of knowledge: rational, emotional and spiritual.

The purpose of the paper is to start a dialogue about the differences between Western and Eastern cultures in the way they conceptualize knowledge, and to discuss the implications of these differences for global intellectual capital (IC) theory and practice.

A systematic metaphor analysis of the concept of knowledge and IC is used to identify common Western conceptualizations of knowledge in the IC literature, and is combined with a review of philosophical knowledge conceptualizations in the main streams of Asian philosophy.

Basic differences were found in the way knowledge is conceptualized. In Western IC literature, common metaphors for knowledge include knowledge as a thing and knowledge as capital. In Asian thought, knowledge is seen as unfolding truth based upon a unity of universe and human self and of knowledge and action.

Western conceptualizations of knowledge, embedded in terms like intellectual capital and knowledge management, cannot be transferred to Asian business without considering the local view on knowledge. Asian conceptualizations of knowledge should play an important role in the further development of a knowledge‐based theory and practice of the firm.

Western IC theorists will have to be cautious of monopolizing their thesis as a universal theory of IC. There is a need for cultural differentiation also regarding IC, as the conceptualization of knowledge is always featured by the main trends in a philosophical tradition.

This paper aims to explain and discuss the complex nature and value of knowledge as an exploitable resource for business.

The authors propose a conceptual explanation of knowledge based on three pillars: the plurality of its nature, understood to be conservative, multipliable and generative, its contextual value and the duality of carrier incorporating business knowledge, objects or processes. After conceptualizing the nature of knowledge, the authors offer a metaphor based on the classic transformation from “potential” to “kinetic” energy in an inclined plane assuming that the conservative nature of knowledge makes it act as energy.

The metaphor uses the concept of potential and kinetic energy: if energy is only potential, it has a potential value not yet effective, whereas if the potential energy (knowledge) becomes kinetic energy (products and/or services), it generates business value. In addition, business value is a function of the speed acquired and caused by the angle of inclined plan, namely, the company’s business model. Knowledge is the source of the value and can be maintained and regenerated only through continuous investments. Several years later the value extraction reaches a null value of the company (potential energy) which will cease to act (kinetic energy) for triggering both the value generated and the value extracted.

The paper proposes an initial attempt to explain the meaning of the transformation of knowledge using a metaphor derived from physics. The metaphor of the energy of knowledge clearly depicts the managerial dilemma of balancing a company’s resources for both the generating and extracting value. Similarly, future study should try to associate other knowledge peculiarities to physical phenomena.

This paper aims to examine the current thoughts on knowledge management (KM) and to develop a metaphor to combine these thoughts in a new way that effectively conveys the different types of knowledge and ways of managing it.

The literature on the transition of data to knowledge is reviewed. A popular paradigm in KM states that data are integrated to create information and information is integrated to create knowledge. This paradigm is represented as a pyramid‐shaped hierarchy with knowledge at the top, information in the middle, and data on the bottom. Why this paradigm is a simplistic and limited view of knowledge and KM is discussed.

The “explicit islands in a tacit sea (EITS)” metaphor is explained and discussed in the context of knowledge and knowledge management (KM).

The EITS metaphor more accurately and completely describes knowledge in the context of KM. The practical implications of this metaphor are its flexibility and transparency of the transitional actions that affect the evolution of data to knowledge.

The EITS metaphor is an evolution of the prevailing frameworks and removes the apparent limitations in earlier frameworks. The paper provides a paradigm shift in the discussion of KM.

This study aims to characterise an intricate, idiosyncratic knowledge-creating mechanism in the modern digital context of cross-cultural business models (CBM). From an integrative socio-cultural and philosophical perspective, the authors suggest a novel concept of polychronic knowledge creation (PKC) and its metaphor to theorise such a complex phenomenon.

This paper is conceptual in nature. It critically reviews the literature characterising the flourishing of information and communication technology (ICT)-driven CBMs and clarifies a research gap. The authors draw a dynamic conceptual framework describing how knowledge is created poly-chronically within CBMs, while also articulating and justifying the occurrence of knowledge icebergs as a manifestation of critical cognitive variances and biases in such contexts.

Building upon existential phenomenology, the authors regard the sea as a parable of the CBM ecosystem and propose the new notion of PKC as a dynamic time-space synthesis and its associated sea-like heuristic metaphor. These elucidate how the intricate interconnectivity of a focal firm with its diverse strategic partners kindles a discursive, multi-path knowledge creation process in ICT-driven CBMs under multiple jurisdictions with manifold cultures.

Implications regarding the role of cross-cultural management in creating new knowledge within CBMs are provided.

The research complements and enriches Nonaka’s (1994) theory and its underlying metaphor “ba” (by incorporating the abstruse yet vital role of culture in the synthesizing process of knowledge creation) to propose the novel ideas of PKC and the sea-like heuristic metaphor in CBMs.

In the service economy era, service value is created from the evaluation of customer experience and it is important to study alliance partner selection for improving service provision. Nevertheless, most of the existing alliance partner selection approaches concentrate on the functional aspects. The purpose of this paper is to provide a novel approach that is customer-centric and emphasizes the emotional aspect of service value.

This paper presents a metaphor-based alliance partner recommendation mechanism (MAPRM) that employs the computing metaphor approach to recommend alliance partners for companies in an innovative way. The main ideas of metaphors are the comparison made between two unlike things that actually have something in common so as to attain innovative thinking.

This study uses the scenario of regional tourism innovation to demonstrate the attempted contributions of MAPRM. The simulation evaluation results show that MAPRM can utilize knowledge and resources from companies to achieve specific alliance goals of satisfying desired customer experiences represented by images that can be analyzed and created based on customers’ feedback and their interactions with companies.

MAPRM aims to assist companies to find appropriate alliance partners which offer potential innovation opportunities for service value provision. It is capable of facilitating the alliance partner selection process and assessing customers’ needs at the same time.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the theory and benefits of poetry, storytelling, and metaphor when applied to cross‐cultural leadership.

The methodology utilized is founded on preliminary research on metaphors, poetry and leadership with examples and connections based upon experience.

Explains how the use of poetry and metaphors can be utilized by a leader to build trust and demonstrate empathy; how to communicate more effectively; and, how to inspire.

Possible future research on the psychological and sociological aspects of the messages that most impel, mobilize, and inspire people to act on complex ideas.

Leaders can approach communications, empathy, and trust with a tool that will enable them to inspire action in complex cultural environments.

There has been little published on the connection between effective leadership and the use of poetry and metaphor. Leadership requires the ability to inspire the desire to follow, and to ignite the intellect and emotions of those who follow.

In order that knowledge distribution in companies can be efficient and effective, it should take place without boundaries. However, this is not often the reality. People tend to build up their own boundaries, often creating overly technical terminology so that others cannot participate in what they do. In other words, identity hinges on difference. Establishing these identities weakens the existence of real innovative companies and reinforces barriers within and between organisations. The ability of companies to transcend these barriers is partly based on the recognition of boundary objects. This means that the better the companies understand the nature of the existing boundary objects, the better they can take actions that will help to overcome existing barriers. Therefore the goal of the paper is to highlight boundary objects that co‐ordinate knowledge sharing within and between firms' innovation processes.

There are many different types of boundary objects. The conceptual paper especially addresses the question of what kind of role metaphoric boundary objects play in the knowledge sharing within and between firms' innovation processes. The study is conducted with the help of a literature survey.

The results of the study suggest that metaphoric boundary objects may play a significant role as a co‐ordinating mechanism in the knowledge sharing of companies' innovation processes.

The relevance of metaphoric boundary objects resides in the fact that with them companies can create the necessary shared understanding behind the framing and resolution of the emerging problem in innovation activities.