Comprehensive Intellectual Capital Management: Step-By-Step

Chapter 1. Intellectual Capital Management and the Knowledge Economy

INTRODUCTION

Exponential growth of information in the knowledge economy focuses attention on the importance of managing knowledge in organizations. So-called learning organizations, those that recognize the value of knowledge within their organizations, can grow and prosper through knowledge management (KM). Much has been written on the subject of KM and the learning organization. An equal number of writings similarly addressed intellectual property (IP) and its potential in securing a competitive advantage and generating revenue. Indeed, it is no secret anymore in the business world that IP can on its own be the core business asset, which underscores the importance of intellectual asset or intellectual property management (IAM/IPM). Little, if any, has been written about the correlation between KM and IAM/IPM and how an organization can use both management approaches to implement an integrated program or system for the total management of its intellectual capital and resources. KM and IAM/IPM are not one and the same despite many similarities in their basic precepts. KM relates to the creation of value, the harvesting of ideas, the mining of employee brainpower, and the conversion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge that the organization can codify and transfer. IAM/IPM relates to the maximization of value, the licensing of know-how, patents and trademarks, and the use of IP to gain a competitive edge, enter ...