National intellectual capital in academic journals: topics and trends

Abstract

National intellectual capital (NIC) has been of interest to scholars since the 1990s. Despite NIC research making up for less than five percent of the research on Intellectual Capital, it has become an important pillar of IC research tradition, extending the understanding about intangible capital and the dynamics of value creation from the organizational level to the level of broader ecosystems and nations. Special foci and interest in global intellectual capital are visible in modern NIC research. Interest in social, environmental, and economic responsibility within the research has increased. National competitiveness as a focus seems to be shifting toward a focus on sustainability and responsibility in the global context. New countries with universities engaging in active research and new types of intellectual capital have emerged. The definition of NIC has remained quite unchanged. This study builds on 142 academic articles on NIC, from the period 1991-2020, and presents an update to the stages of evolution of NIC literature.