The role of experiences in creating and developing intellectual capital

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of organisational, relational and individual experiences in the creation and development of intellectual capital.Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper, exploring the relationship between theories accounting for organisationally relevant experience and intellectual capital. A three‐dimensional model of human, structural and relational capital is used as a conceptual framework of intellectual capital, representing three levels of organisational behaviour. An understanding of the role of experience in developing human capital is provided by referring to experiential learning theory; the development of relational capital is explored from a social capital perspective; and structural capital from the vantage point of structural inertia theory and theories of organisational culture.Findings – These theories suggest that experiences can be beneficial to intellectual capital development, but also potentially harmful if not managed effect...