Intellectual liabilities: lessons from The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
| Date | 10 April 2009 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720910962470 |
| Published date | 10 April 2009 |
| Pages | 92-104 |
| Author | Christiaan D. Stam |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Intellectual liabilities: lessons
from The Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire
Christiaan D. Stam
Centre for Research in Intellectual Capital,
INHolland University of Applied Sciences, Haarlem, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – Intellectual capital theory and practice predominantly focus on measuring and managing
intangible assets. However, if one wants to balance the intellectual capital books, one should recognise
both intellectual assets and intellectual liabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present a
theoretical framework for measuring intellectual liabilities.
Design/methodology/approach – Identifying intangible liabilities is identifying the risk of the
decline and fall of organisations. One of the first extensive studies related to the causes of decline and
fall is Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It seems as if the main lessons that were
drawn from the study are also applicable to today’s business environment. Therefore, the framework
that is developed here is based not only on intellectual capital literature, but also on Gibbon’s study
into the causes of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Findings – The findings are combined in a framework for measuring intellectual liabilities. The main
distinction within the proposed framework is the distinction between internal and external liabilities.
Internal liabilities refer to the causes of deterioration that arise from the sources of value creation
within the organisation. External liabilities refer to the causes of deterioration that come from outside
and are beyond the control of the organisation.
Originality/value – The article explores a relatively new topic (intellectual liabilities) from a
perspective (historical sciences) that is rarely used in management science.
Keywords Intellectualcapital, Assets, Liabilities, Businessfailures
Paper type Conceptual paper
As long as the Colossus stands, Rome shall stand; when the Colossus falls, Rome will fall;
when Rome falls, the world will fall (Saint Bede, 672-735).
1. Introduction
The above epigram refers to a colossal statue of emperor Nero (54-68 AD) in the centre
of the city of Rome, near the Collosseum. This statue was seen as a physical symbol or
indicator of the strength of the Roman Empire. What is interesting about Bede’s
epigram is that he did not only address the supposed strength of the Roman Empire,
but also the possibility of decay and its consequences. Management literature and
research has the tendency to focus on the bright side of organising. Management
sciences are predominantly “in search for excellence” (Peters and Waterman, 1982) and
therefore focus on the attributes of organisational success. Relatively few focus on the
issues related to organisational decline or organisational failure (Van Witteloostuijn,
1998). That this is still the case, can easily be illustrated by a simple search of the
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VINE
39,1
92
VINE: The journal of information and
knowledge management systems
Vol. 39 No. 1, 2009
pp. 92-104
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/03055720910962470
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