Det intellektuella kapitalets vem, vad och hur: en fallstudie

Sammanfattning: An investment decision made by an investor is usually preceded by an analytical process, that takes different aspects of information into account. Previous literature have showed how investors weigh their opinion about the stock, called the investment object, against other contextual factors. The investment object, in turn, is created in the discussion that capital market actors and companies engage in. One subject that research shows should play a critical role in the discussion, which in practice usually does not, is intellectual capital. This essay looks at how intellectual capital is discussed, on which its role for the investment object is derived. The findings include that relational capital is frequently discussed, while human capital rarely is, with structural capital being somewhere in between. The discussion also apply conflicting definitions of intellectual capital over time, starting with a dis-entangled definition that later on shifts into an entangled definition. Lastly, the discussion shows how the different components of intellectual capital are entangled with each other. Thus, intellectual capital plays an incongruent role for the investment object. Based on the research question and the purpose of this essay, we have chosen to conduct a qualitative study in the form of an abductive research approach.