A rigorous, pathbreaking analysis demonstrating that a country's prosperity is directly related in the long run to the skills of its population. In this book Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann make a simple, central claim, developed with rigorous theoretical and empirical support: knowledge is the key to a country's development. Of course, every country acknowledges the importance of developing human capital, but Hanushek and Woessmann argue that message has become distorted, with politicians and researchers concentrating not on valued skills but on proxies for them. The common focus is on school attainment, although time in school provides a very misleading picture of how skills enter into development. Hanushek and Woessmann contend that the cognitive skills of the population—which they term the “knowledge capital” of a nation—are essential to long-run prosperity. Hanushek and Woessmann subject their hypotheses about the relationship between cognitive skills (as consistently measured by international student assessments) and economic growth to a series of tests, including alternate specifications, different subsets of countries, and econometric analysis of causal interpretations. They find that their main results are remarkably robust, and equally applicable to developing and developed countries. They demonstrate, for example, that the “Latin American growth puzzle” and the “East Asian miracle” can be explained by these regions' knowledge capital. Turning to the policy implications of their argument, they call for an education system that develops effective accountability, promotes choice and competition, and provides direct rewards for good performance.

Intangible value leads to new insights and ideas, and higher levels of creativity and innovative thinking. Personal knowledge capital focuses on the knowledge worker, knowledge creation, and third generation knowledge management. A focus on the ‘inner and outer’ aspects of personal knowledge capital creates a balanced approach in order to produce creative solutions. As such this forms part of a synthesis of mind versus body thinking in relation to knowledge creation theory within knowledge management. This title is divided into two sections: the inner and outer path. The inner path focuses on tacit knowledge in knowledge creation, and highlights the importance of inner value, resulting in a model for personal knowledge awareness. The outer path explores how to effectively communicate and exploit knowledge in a modern business world, both online and offline. This section focuses on valuing intangibles including social capital, relationships and trust, exploring community, conversation, infrastructure and ecologies for a web world. You can manage your own assets through your communities and networks, exploiting the latest technologies around you. Examines know-how, tacit knowledge, and emotional and cognitive knowledge Links social capital to web technologies to create innovative frameworks, tools and models Puts forward tools and mechanisms supported by research, which can be used for the design of a knowledge infrastructure

Visionary in scope, Intellectual Capital is the first book that shows how to turn the untapped knowledge of an organization into its greatest competitive weapon. Thomas A. Stewart demonstrates how knowledge--not natural resources, machinery, or financial capital--has become the most important factor in economic life. Through practical advice, stories, and case histories, Stewart reveals how organizations and individuals can create and use the knowledge assets they need. Dazzling in its ability to make conceptual sense of the economic revolution we are living through, this ingenious book cuts through the vague rhetoric of "paradigm shifts" to show how the Information Age economy really works. Intellectual Capital should be read as if the futures of your company and your career depend on it. They do.

"Intangible Capital is a breakthrough book. Adams and Oleksak have managed the near impossible: to make the complex topic of intangible assets understandable and meaningful to businessmen, policymakers and the general public. I consider this a guidebook to the economy of the 21st century."---Kenan Jarboe, President, Athena Alliance --

Social capital - the informal networks, trust and common understanding among individuals in an organization - determines major competitive advantages in today's networked economy. Knowledge and Social Capital explains how social capital can drive collaboration, reconcile an organization's internal and external labor markets, and improve organizational effectiveness. This edited compilation of authoritative articles helps readers understand how they can build and capitalize on their own organizations' social capital. Knowledge and Social Capital teaches core principles and important strategies to a range of executives, including organizational development specialists, corporate strategists, and knowledge management professionals. Readers will learn how an organization can:

Perspectives on Intellectual Capital bridges the disciplinary gaps and facilitates knowledge transfer across disciplines, featuring views on intellectual capital from the fields of accounting, strategy, marketing, human resource management, operations management, information systems, and economics. It also offers interdisciplinary views on intellectual capital from the perspectives of public policy, knowledge management and epistemology. By analyzing the various perspectives, Editor Bernard Marr is able to present a truly comprehensive understanding of what intellectual capital is, including the "state of the art" thinking about it in each discipline, the common key trends, and the trajectories for future developments, learning, and practice. Contributors include many of the leading thinkers in their respective disciplines: Mie Augier and David Teece on the Economic Perspective, Bernard Marr and Goran Roos on the Strategy Perspective, Baruch Lev, Leandro Canibano, and Bernard Marr on the Accounting Perspective; Sudi Sudarsanam, Ghulam Sorwar, and Bernard Marr on the Finance Perspective; Jan Mourtisen, Per Nikolaj Bukh, and Bernard Marr on the Reporting Perspective; Lisa Fernstrom on the Marketing Perspective; Ulf Johanson on the HR Perspective; L. Martin Clotier and E. Richard Gold on the Legal Perspective; Partick H. Sullivan on the Intellectual Property Perspective; Giovanni Schiuma, Antonio Lerro, and Daniela Carlucci on the Interfirm Perspective; Ahmed Bounfour and Leif Edvinsson on the Public Policy Perspective; J-C Spender and Bernard Marr on a Knowledge-Based Perspective; Goran Roos on An Epistemology Perpsective. Foreword by Robert Grant. Bernard Marr is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Business Performance at Cranfield School of Management, UK, and Visiting Professor, University of Basilicata, Italy.

Knowledge Capital: How Knowledge-Based Enterprises Really Get Built is an integrated, structured set of conversations with thought leaders and key practitioners in the fields of intellectual capital and knowledge management, who examine-in the form of conversations-the steps necessary for creating and implementing the various dimensions of a knowledge-based enterprise. These are the dimensions that need to be effectively addressed for the organization to successfully make the transition from an activity-based organization to a truly knowledge-based enterprise. The conversations that make up Knowledge Capital are not studies of theory separated from practice or practice without a strong theoretical base. Rather, they are the stories of how knowledge-based enterprises really get built, in the words of the people who built them. While every contributor begins from his or her own unique perspective and background, each moves toward a convergent understanding of the core elements, perspectives, and practices involved. These systemic conversations provide a body of knowledge and experience on how to craft and implement strategies, as well as the how values, learning, performance, relationships, innovation, and change play in the development of usable knowledge environment. These explorations, together, lead to a mapping of what are quickly becoming the foundations of the next stage of the field. Knowledge Capital gives the reader a readily accessible collection of insights and experiences essential for the new era in intellectual capital and knowledge management.