Intangible capital and wealth creation: between scientific knowledge and the epistemological maze of a paradigm

Abstract

The international economy is undergoing a shift in production through a shift in the driving forces of the economy. This shift from material to immaterial production explains the growing interest in the study of intangible capital.

Intangible capital is an innovative and complex concept. It is not easy to define, due to its multidimensional scope, the difficulty of identifying, measuring and allocating it in the productive fabric of economies, using data from traditional accounting systems.

The approach based on the concept of intangible capital has the merit of offering a framework for assimilating the dynamics and process of wealth creation at the macroeconomic level, identifying its internal and external drivers and optimizing, by implication, the process of designing and implementing economic policies.

However, the multidisciplinary nature of this concept makes the assimilation of this type of capital more complex. Therefore, it seems necessary to study this knowledge in an interdisciplinary approach in order to dispel its ambiguities.

The purpose of this article is to demystify the complexity of intangible capital as a factor of wealth creation according to an epistemological approach. We will study the scientificity of this paradigm from its genesis to its scope. To do so, we will appeal to the epistemological schools to study the scientificity of intangible capital. This article answers the following question: to what extent does the epistemological approach complicate the scientific representation of intangible capital?

JEL Classification:  E61

Paper Type: Theoretical research.