Developing Intellectual Capital Through Knowledge Management in International Assignments: A Conceptual Model

Abstract

Currently, organisations must view their intangible assets from a strategic perspective and ensure they can develop intellectual capital to integrate knowledge into their day-to-day management as part of their intangible assets. This strategic perspective leads to using international assignees as knowledge facilitators who can help develop intellectual capital. However, managing knowledge from international assignments to create intellectual capital is often complicated, and the literature pleads for more research on the topic. Therefore, through a systematic literature review, this study aims to overview the state of the art regarding knowledge and intellectual capital management in the context of international assignments to develop a new conceptual model in the field. This study answers the gap in the literature regarding a model that analyses how international assignments influence knowledge management and the creation of intellectual capital in organisations. The main findings suggest that research needs to focus on developing a system to manage knowledge and intellectual capital in the context of international assignments to ensure competitive advantage. The main limitation of this study is the use of only two databases. Further studies should implement the same research procedure using other databases to achieve a broader understanding. In addition, future research needs to focus on developing measurement models of knowledge and IC management for organisations.