Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of Defining the Intellectual Capital

Abstract

The work generalizes theoretical approaches to defining the term “intellectual capital” using the tools of morphological analysis. The authors list key characteristics of the intellectual capital as a type of capital and describe the features which are only inherent in this type of capital. Morphological analysis allowed singling out basic categories of the intellectual capital: an asset capable of yielding profits, an asset and a competitiveness factor, a process and knowledge, skills. By combining morphological decomposition and analysis of characteristic aspects of basic approaches to defining the intellectual capital, the authors developed their own definition of the studied category: as intellectual assets represented by human and machine intelligence and intellectual products having economic value and usable in production and exchange for the purpose of generating income, ensuring competitiveness of the enterprise.