ABSTRACT
Intellectual capital (IC) has come of age and undergone a series of transformations through a number of different actors. The initial ground-clearing and visionary contributions from Scandinavia and the U.S. (Skandia 1994; Brooking 1996; Edvinsson and Malone 1997; Sveiby 1997; Stewart 1998; Roos 1998) paved the way for both a more intellectually explorative journey of its classification, definitions and meaning (Jeny and Stolowy 2000; Gröjer 2001; MERITUM 2002; DMST 2003) and practical evidence of the virtues and flaws of the concept (c.f. Chaminade and Catasús 2007). In hindsight, it is clear that the IC concept has become established as an essential expression of the need to capture and communicate value in the modern business context and that this need cannot be isolated to specific countries or regions, but has become a global endeavor. One of the most impressive records of sustainable policy commitment and academic research efforts into the development and use of IC measures can be found in Japan, particularly through the long-term support of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
