ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to analyse the third stage of intellectual capital (IC) research - how organizations implement IC in practice from a critical and performative perspective - and how IC management is implemented in practice in Japanese medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2005, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) published the first guidelines for IC management reporting. In the following years, IC policies were developed and in some regions or prefectures, local governments promoted IC management, reporting, and financing especially for SMEs. Strategy is thought to affect developing IC, which affects how an SME performs, thus, "discussing strategy helps with understanding how IC practices contribute to competitive advantage". SMEs' strategic position may affect the composition of IC either developed or acquired. The other characteristic of Japanese SMEs is that IC management is conducted based on a broad perspective instead of position analysis.
