Emerging as one of the most important corporate assets, there is evidence that, in some developed countries, the impact of knowledge capital in the GDP now surpasses the fixed capital. This paper uses quantitative data to broadly qualify the impact of the two main building blocks in the knowledge management integration process: information and communication technologies (ICT) and Education. The data analysis suggests that by providing efficient network platforms, knowledge can be captured, transformed and disseminated to individuals, groups and organisations. Investment in ICT seems to enable to connect people and support knowledge sharing and interpersonal interaction and therefore facilitate knowledge management processes and strategies. A case‑study of Portugal is used to illustrate the conclusions drawn.

Knowledge Management has become the most strategic resource in the new business environment. This research is based on the analysis of the strategic knowledge held within a multinational group; a leader in the design and production of a great variety of components for the automotive industry. It focuses on achieving feasibility and real applications by identifying knowledge gaps that must be overcome to perform certain activities, so as to take the right decision on its acquisition in terms of what to acquire, how to acquire it, and the associated time and costs. We use a recently developed artificial neural architecture called Cooperative Maximum‑Likelihood Hebbian Learning, a tool to develop part of an Integral Global Model of Business Management, which has the potential to bring about a global improvement in the firm by adding value, flexibility and competitiveness. From this perspective, the model used in the study generalizes the hypothesis of organizational survival and competitiveness, so that the organization is able to identify, strengthen, and use key knowledge to reach pole position. Our conclusions suggest that it is possible to specify the knowledge that is held but is underused in the departments, taking into account their current levels of knowledge, their relevance and the urgency to acquire new knowledge. Moreover, an analysis of the required evolution rate of the present knowledge may be included which, among other aspects helps detect new knowledge, eliminate obsolete knowledge and validate new needs.

The paper is devoted to the question of how important Intangible Assets (IA) are in today's knowledge‑based economy. The latest surveys show that the value of companies is now mostly generated by Intangible Assets, and not by "traditional" assets having a tangible form. The main research objective is to define the impact of fundamental value of both tangible and intangible assets on the market value of assets of Russian companies. As a general approach used herein for IA evaluation, the method of calculated intangible value offered by T. Stewart was chosen. Developed econometric models are tested on the data of Russian stock market from 2001 to 2005 year. In the focus of the research there is both the analysis of the sampled companies (43 companies) as a whole as well as divided into five aggregated fields: mechanical engineering, extractive industry, engineering, communication services, and metallurgy. Some suggestions for managing IA in Russian companies are presented in the paper. In conclusion, the main directions for further research in this field are outlined.

In today's changing economy managers of the leading companies understand that the key sources for value creation are Intangible Assets (IA). The latest surveys confirm the fact that nowadays these assets are the value drivers and not "traditional" assets having tangible form. The same surveys confirm the fact, that one third of all the effected investment solutions is based on the existing Intangible Assets, and that the decisions made on the basis of IA allow them to make a more accurate prediction of income and profitability of a company in the future, and, hence, the company's value for the shareholders. The research held in the paper defines the impact of fundamental value of both tangible and intangible assets on the market value of assets of Russian companies. As a general approach used herein for IA evaluation, the method of Calculated Intangible Value (CIV) offered by T. Stewart was chosen. According to CIV the evaluation of Intangible Assets is based on residual operating income (REOI) model as a variant fundamental value of equity model. The problem of Intangible Assets composition and structure is also covered in the paper. Developed econometric models are tested on the data of Russian stock market for two periods: from 2001 to 2005 year and from 2001 to 2006. In the focus of the research there is both the analysis of the sampled companies (43 companies) as a whole as well as divided into five aggregated fields: mechanical engineering, extractive industry, power engineering, communication services, and metallurgy. At the end of the paper the authors highlight the main directions for further research in the field.

The Commission of the European Communities (2006) estimates in its report that one third of all EU entrepreneurs will leave within the next ten years. In conjunction with the situation that (1) the majority of Europeans prefer being an employee and (2) the fact that changes in demography will reduce the pool of potential successors over the next decades, this paper argues that external (non‑family) successors take on an important role and are in a position to choose the company, which best matches their expectations. A successful company succession depends on a multitude of different aspects. In the case of external succession, certainly the available funds represent a critical point. However, the assumption is that the decision to acquire a company is based on other factors. It is hypothesised that the potential external successor will be interested in those companies offering potential expansions. In view of the increasing relevance of intangible assets within the firm regarding company success, it is suggested that these assets primarily influence the external successor to go further in the succession process. Thus, it is expected that the future perspectives of the company are founded on its inherent intangibles and which in turn justify a financial investment. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of intangible assets as seen from the viewpoints of external successors. The strategy of research behind this paper is the application of a mixed methods approach which is divided into a survey approach and a case study approach (given priority). Within the quantitative stage a web‑survey was used to obtain data on the relevance of intangible assets in terms of external company succession in SMEs whilst addressing members of German trade corporations and chambers of commerce. The results of the quantitative study were enhanced through qualitative interviews with ten external successors in SMEs. The data that were gathered explores the role of intangible assets during the successors' deliberations as to whether or not the company should be acquired. Intangible assets are found to be important features for external successors. Specifically five intangibles can be highlighted which are brand, partner(s), key‑employees, knowledge retention, and corporate culture. The critical intangibles were summarised in a conceptual framework. The findings suggest that in the case of external succession, intangible assets have a remarkable influence on the external successor's decision‑making and traditional issues in the view of company succession such as tax, legal and, financial aspects should be extended to include intangible aspects.

Intellectual capital (IC) — defined by the values such as knowledge, skills, experience, organisational, social and cultural relations etc. — is one of the most important assets of tourism business and can be perceived as the factor having the greatest influence on the company's value. Due to the leading role of intangible assets in tourism sector, it is important to specify the IC structure and diagnose IC assets for tourism industry. The results of the diagnosis should be taken into consideration in IC management and in the decision‑making process within the organisation. The diagnosis of the IC condition is an issue which has not been the subject of any detailed research in Polish environment. The lack of specific tools as well as the real need for resolving the title problem has been the inspiration for a deeper investigation. The goal of the undertaken research was to prepare the methods of IC audit in tourism companies and to create necessary, utilitarian auditing tools. The main objective was to be achieved by performing the research tasks presented in the paper, among which the most important are: Review of the theory and different IC valuating and measuring methods (literature of the subject). Executing the initial research among experts, executives and employees of tourism market, using Individual in‑Depth Interview (IDI) and participant observation methods. Preparation of an IC audit's algorithms. Programming a software of IC audit implementation. Application of the IC audit prototype to an experimental group with the aim of eliminating any methodological and technical faults. Implementation of the IC audit in chosen Polish tourism companies. Presentation of the results (reporting). The initial research clearly indicated, that the knowledge resulting from an IC audit is useful and necessary for executives. Reporting of IC audit lets managers identify and highlight the missing or neglected elements of IC structure and recommends certain activities in management procedures, designed to enhance business performance. This paper presents the results of the research done so far, but the main goal is to implement the IC audit tool in Polish tourism companies and prove its efficiency.

Intellectual capital (IC) is increasingly acknowledged as a dominant strategic asset and a major source of competitive advantage for organisations. Despite an overwhelming body of literature on methods, models, systems and frameworks for assessment of IC, and increased awareness of the need for such assessment, relatively few organisations are actively and comprehensively assessing their IC. Choosing an appropriate method is problematic. It has been argued that, due to the complexities involved in choosing (selecting and customising) an appropriate method for assessing intellectual capital in a particular context, management support systems with knowledge components are needed for managing the evolving body of knowledge concerning the assessment of intellectual capital. To empirically test this argument, a survey making use of a self‑administered questionnaire was performed to test perceptions of suitable consultants, practitioners and researchers on the complexity levels of decisions to be made in selecting and customising methods for assessment of IC. Respondents were selected through convenience sampling coupled with snowball sampling. Data collected on respondents themselves confirms their expert status regarding IC and aspects thereof. The majority of these respondents indicated that, given any particular context, the decisions involved in selecting and customising an appropriate method for assessment of IC is often or always very complex. Decisions involved in selection are perceived as marginally more complex than decisions involved in customisation. Respondents provided valuable insights and rich examples of scenarios on the higher and lower regions of the complexity scale for the decisions involved in the selection, as well as, for the decisions involved in the customisation of IC assessment methods. It is concluded that the perceived complexity of the decisions involved in choosing IC assessment methods supports the notion that supporting systems are required to assist human decision makers in making sense of the complexities involved in choosing IC assessment methods.

In this paper we offered a new approach towards analysis of Intangible Assets. The conceptual framework of our research was based on taxonomy proposed by Contractor (2000) and we focused our study on intangible assets that formed uncodified human capital. The aim of this research was to discriminate the most crucial intangible assets that were absolutely indispensible in the organisational value creation. On the basis of a questionnaire tool we constructed an Information Table according to Pawlak (1982). Next we applied Rough Sets method to analyse our data. The choice of the data analysis technique was determined by numerous advantages associated with Rough Sets that were not so obvious in turn when considering traditional statistical methods. Consequently we obtained a set of intangible assets that were absolutely necessary in the organisational value creation process. This set was form by 14 different indicators that embraced aspects related to training, competencies and culture. Nearly all of them had a qualitative character. In relation to training, apart from the trainings frequency and quality, such aspects as knowledge dissemination and evaluation of the need for training were highlighted. Despite of being under in the area of Training, the aspect of cooperation was emphasized in the area of Competencies. In that section, apart from the requirement of particular knowledge necessary in each position, importance was placed on soft skills like motivation, team building and cooperation. In the area of organisational culture, there were two elements of importance: the level of freedom when performing duties and the degree to which management attends to employees problems. Consequently, we can conclude that despite belonging to various sections, all of the crucial intangible assets stressed the absolute importance of the active participation of employees in the organisational decision making. This constitutes clear evidence of the important role of Intellectual Capital in corporate value creation.