The origin and evolution of Intellectual Capital

Intellectual Capital (IC), which is commonly considered to include human capital, structural capital, and relational capital, is engendering increasing concern within the management of organisations over its roles, functions, and implications in respect of sustaining their long-term survival and competitive edge. It has become particularly crucial in the past few decades because of fast-changing social, economic, technological, and environmental circumstances. Due to the increasing importance of the impact of IC on sustainable human development, continuous international and scholarly efforts have attempted to provide better frameworks to enhance and promote the measurement of, and reporting on, organisations' IC. Based on the four significant social and economic periods, IC's origins and evolution are highlighted and discussed. Copyright © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Eric C. K. Cheng; individual chapters, the contributors.