15
Chapter 2
Evolution of IC Science
and Beyond
Leif Edvinsson
Lund University, Sweden & The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
ABSTRACT
Today we are bombarded by information and news signals, including health, meteorological, and financial
issues. The interpretation of many of these signals will call for a new dimension of Systems Science for
enterprises and society, which can be called Intellectual Capital (IC) Science. This article will look into
the evolution of IC Science during the past 20 years and emerging signals for its future applications.
INTRODUCTION
We are on the edge to something in the World
Economy. But what? Can system science give
another holistic understanding? What is the core
of the new actuality?
Recently we have seen the problems and failures as signals of emerging new realities. Famous
cases from the financial sector are Fannie Mae,
Lehman Brothers in the United States, UBS in
Switzerland, Royal Bank of Scotland in UK, and
many more.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-1782-7.ch002
There are also very prominent and interesting
positive cases like Microsoft, Google, Skype,
and IKEA. Is there a new type of value chain?
Perhaps, as stated by late professor Richard
Normann, this value chain can be reframed into
a new Value Constellation (Normann, 2001) or
an inverted value chain as suggested by research
from among others E. Ossiansson, Gothenburg
University, Sweden.
It is time to both observe the signals and tentative pattern. For this we need to phrase a kind of
Quizzics that will help us to see and understand
what is happening from several perspectives—a
holistic intelligence for better Knowledge Navigation. Knowledge Navigation might be seen as
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Evolution of IC Science and Beyond
a way to remove the barriers and obstacles in
uncovering new opportunity spaces and the many
doors around.
The problems we are facing are also calling
for another ecological approach to economics,
not just harvesting maximum. For the IC we need
to go to the epistemological dimensions, meaning that IC stands for Derived Insights about the
most important /Head Value for our Future. IC
can then be differentiated to different types such
as Intellectual Capability, Intellectual Capacity,
Intellectual Competencies, etc. If knowledge is
not just in our heads or an object, but seen as a
relationship, we need to discover new ways for
navigating into the unknown, especially related to
the intangibles, to be able to develop a universe
of not value chains but value stars, as stated by
late R. Normann.
Will the Knowledge Era be replaced by some
other era? Early signs indicate that we are moving into more and more intangible perspectives;
therefore, the next era might be called the Mind
Era, according to Professor Csaba Varga, at the
Institute of Strategic Research in Budapest, Hungary (Varga & Ugrin, 2008).
Will there emerge on the national level some
new dimensions of knowledge democracy?
Emerging research and prototyping is already under way in Hungary, Croatia, UK and many other
places. This could be another interesting space for
Systems Science, and for societal innovations.
Knowledge Navigation is a complex and
compounded challenging issue, especially when
the global knowledge flow, like multiple waves at
the sea is rolling in on the beach every 24 hour. At
Lund University the late professor Stefan Dedijer
inspired a starting point for the subject on Quizzics—the art and science of questioning. This is
a fundamental dimension for both the navigation
in the knowledge based economy as well as the
future. A good question is triggering the brain to
develop new connections or synapses. A good
question might be more focused on whom than
what, i.e. relationship rather than object.
16
Intellectual Capital (IC)
The use of images has become part of the pedagogy
of Knowledge Leadership. One of the very first
images, but still valid, is the tree of knowledge
(Figure 1), which illustrates the holistic perspective
and ecosystem of Intellectual Capital (IC) as well
as its hidden dimensions. In this tree, the fruits
are highlighted as assets, based on a flow through
the tree of nutrition based on the capabilities of
the roots. The soil is the enabling cultural context
for continuous renewal and knowledge growth
(Edvinsson & Malone, 1997).
However, two major dimensions related to the
Knowledge Era can be added—a time line as well
as logic. The time line is the present surrounded
by the past and the future. The logic is based on,
among others, research from Professor Karl-Erik
Sveiby, with Human Capital, Organizational
Capital and Relational Capital (Sveiby, 1997). IC
is then, from a systems science perspective, a
larger concept, as well as containing the concept
of Intellectual Property (IP) and IP Rights, which
are legally packaged and protected intangible
assets.
Furthermore, if the perspective is to prepare
for the future, then the tree dimensions might
be turned upside down, to amplify the strategic
perspective shift of this cultivating ecosystem, as
illustrated below. This is also closely related to
the way the word Intellectual Capital is written in
Chinese, where the meaning of capital is close to
the meaning of the roots and ground.
This will take us to the Quizzics of understanding different levels of IC, IC of the human
being, i.e., Human Capital. Here the deeper understanding of Neuroscience and Brain Research
will give further insights. Here we also find the
intangibles of values, and thought patterns, with
questions around the correlation of wealth and
values. On the macro perspectives we are facing
the deeper understanding of IC of nations, such
as the evolution of Singapore and Finland versus
Indonesia and China. But also IC of cities and
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