Investopedia

Continue to Site »

Intellectual Capital

Filed Under » , ,
Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Intellectual Capital'

The value of a company or organization's employee knowledge, business training and any proprietary information that may provide the company with a competitive advantage. Intellectual capital is considered an asset, and can broadly be defined as the collection of all informational resources a company has at its disposal that can be used to drive profits, gain new customers, create new products, or otherwise improve the business.

Some of the subsets of intellectual capital include human capital, information capital, brand awareness and instructional capital.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Intellectual Capital'

Intellectual capital is a real business asset, although measuring it is a very subjective task. Companies spend millions annually training their employees in business-specific topics and otherwise paying for increased competence in their staff. This capital employed provides a return to the company, one that can contribute toward many years' worth of business value.

As technology and process improvements become more of a differentiating factor within modern companies, intellectual capital is likely to become an even stronger force in the marketplace.

Articles Of Interest

  1.

    Evaluating A Company's Capital Structure

    Learn to use the composition of debt and equity to evaluate balance sheet strength.

  2. Can You Count On Goodwill?

    Carefully examine goodwill and its sources before considering the value of your investment.

  3. Financial Efficiency: The Analyst's Guide To Time Management

    Being efficient on the job is the key to finding balance and avoiding burnout as a broker or advisor.

  4. Intangible Assets Provide Real Value To Stocks

    Intangible assets don't appear on balance sheets, but they're crucial to judging a company's value.

  5. Should You Follow Your Fund Manager?

    Learn how to tell if a fund in flux is still a suitable investment.

  6. Get Tough On Management Puff

    Company managers are often skilled at fooling investors. Be critical and don't believe the hype.

  7. Where Top Down Meets Bottoms Up

    Find the investing "sweet spot" by combining these two styles.

  8. Tips For Boosting Your Business

    Find out how butter up new clients, build up old files and better your bottom line.

  9. The Basics Of A Financial Analysis Report

    Running financial analysis on a company or industry is a key skill every investor must learn and understand how to undertake without which an ineffective financial report and investment recommendation ...

  10. 5 ETFs Flaws You Shouldn't Overlook

    Despite their popularity, exchange traded funds have some drawbacks that investors should know about.
comments powered by Disqus
Marketplace
Hot Definitions

  1. Winner's Curse

    Because of incomplete information, emotions or any other number of factors regarding the item being auctioned, bidders can have a difficult time determining the item's intrinsic value. As a result, the largest overestimation of an item's value ends up winning the auction.

  2. Glocalization

    A combination of the words "globalization" and "localization" used to describe a product or service that is developed and distributed globally, but is also fashioned to accommodate the user or consumer in a local market.

  3. Disaster Loss

    A special type of tax-deductible loss, similar to a casualty loss, where a loss has been incurred by taxpayers who reside in an area that has been designated as a federal disaster area by the President.

  4. Fool In The Shower

    The notion that changes or policies designed to alter the course of the economy should be done slowly, rather than all at once.

  5. Pattern Day Trader

    An SEC designation for traders who trade the same security four or more times per day (buys and sells) over a five-day period, and for whom same-day trades make up at least 6% of their activity for that period.

  6. Cost-Push Inflation

    A phenomenon in which the general price levels rise (inflation) due to increases in the cost of wages and raw materials.
Trading Center