A theoretical framework for assessing managing and indexing the intellectual capital

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework which defines, analyses and assesses the intellectual capital (IC) value drivers (VDs) to increase the value creation of an organization. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed framework is composed by an arrangement of procedural steps. In the first step IC VDs are selected by reason of their relevance and of their occurrences in recent literature. Then, an assessment of the VDs is carried out on the basis of their strategic importance and of their inter-relationships with otherVDs. Finally, an index is constructed from the combination of the static and dynamic characteristics of the selected VDs. Findings – This integrated framework provides managers with the possibility of monitoring the response of IC performance to their strategic decisions and helps them to adjust and improve measures to reach the prefixed objectives. Managers’ perception is the fundamental input to the assessment of the contribution of the IC to the value creation process. Originality/value – The modality of building the proposed synthetic index innovates the assessment of IC from a quantitative point of view. The framework offers a high degree of flexibility both in defining and managing IC and in assessing each IC value driver in dependence of any variations in market scenery and of any external or internal input of innovation.