Intellectual capital of European Union countries (EU-28) – measurement concept

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of the present research paper is to enrich the achievements of science through a description of a theoretical-methodological approach to measuring the national intellectual capital (NIC) along with its application in the evaluation of the European Union countries (2015). Research method – The synthetic indicator, describing the intellectual capital of the EU countries was quantified by using the TOPSIS method. The year 2015 is the study period. Results – The estimation results confirm the diversity of the intellectual capital level in the 28 countries of the EU. The highest index value applies to Sweden. Romania takes the last – 28th place and belongs to the fourth typological group with a very low potential of intellectual capital. Originality /value / implications /recommendations – The new perspective on defining and taxonomy of intellectual capital (including ecological capital) is a kind of novum in this area. As a result, the elaborated ranking of the EU countries provides a new, wider perspective on the intellectual capital issues.