Intellectual capital at the crossroads: managing, measuring, and reporting of IC

This introductory editorial to the special issue “IC at the crossroads: theory and research” explains the rationale and background to the studies. In addition it outlines reasons why the field of intellectual (IC) capital is at the crossroads. It seems that awareness of the importance of IC has been created. It is now the role of researchers as well as practitioners to move to the next level. This next level involves issues around taxonomies as well as research methodologies. In order to move on, precise definitions of concepts such as IC, better justifications of why organizations need to measure and manage IC, and increased clarity about terms such as measurement, assessment, or valuation are needed. In addition, more rigorous research methods are needed in order to test and validate existing theories in the field. 1. Background The background to this special issue was the 2003 PMA Intellectual Capital Symposium, which was held at Cranfield School of Management, UK, between 31 September and 2 October 2003. The Performance Measurement Association (PMA) is a global network for those interested in the theory and practice of performance measurement and management. Previously published in: Intellectual Capital, Volume 5, Number 2, 2004 Title from ebook title screen (viewed on Aug. 26, 2005).