On the metaphorical nature of intellectual capital: a textual analysis
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930610639796 |
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| Pages | 93-110 |
| Published date | 01 January 2006 |
| Author | Daniel Andriessen |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,HR & organizational behaviour,Information & knowledge management |
On the metaphorical nature of
intellectual capital: a textual
analysis
Daniel Andriessen
INHOLLAND University of Professional Education,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – To analyse common metaphors used in the intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge
management literatures to conceptualise knowledge, in order to study the nature of the intellectual
capital concept.
Design/methodology/approach – A textual analysis methodology is used to analyse texts from
The Knowledge-Creating Company by Nonaka and Takeuchi, Working Knowledge by Davenport and
Prusak and “Brainpower” by Stewart, in order to identify underlying metaphors.
Findings – Over 95 per cent of the statements about knowledge identified are based on some kind of
metaphor. The two dominant metaphors that form the basis for the concept of intellectual capital are
“knowledge as a resource” and “knowledge as capital”.
Research limitations/implications – Metaphors highlight certain characteristics and ignore
others, so the IC community should ask itself what characteristics of knowledge the “knowledge as a
resource” and “knowledge as capital” metaphors ignore.
Practical implications – Knowledge has no referent in the real world and requires metaphor to be
defined, conceptualised, and acted upon. When using such metaphors we should become aware of their
limitations as they steer us in certain directions and this may happen unconsciously. The paper
concludes by asking whether we need new metaphors to better understand the mechanisms of the
knowledge economy, hence allowing us to potentially change some of the more negative structural
features of contemporary society.
Originality/value – This paper is the first to highlight that intellectual capital is a metaphor and
that the metaphorical nature of the concept has far reaching consequences.
Keywords Intellectualcapital, Metaphors, Knowledge management
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980, 1999) we use metaphor to conceptualise
phenomena, structure our thinking, and create abstract concepts. They state that a
metaphor is not simply a matter of words that describe similarities, but metaphors are
at the basis of most of our concepts and that abstract reasoning would be quite
impossible without them. In this paper Lakoff and Johnson’s framework is used to
analyse the abstract concept of intellectual capital (IC) and to show that the IC concept
is metaphorical.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
The author would like to thank Joseph Kessels, Mathieu Weggeman, Leif Edvinsson, Marien van
den Boom, Jim Falconer, Don Ropes, David O’Donnell and Christiaan Stam for their valuable
comments on previous versions of this paper.
IC: a textual
analysis
93
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 7 No. 1, 2006
pp. 93-110
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/14691930610639796
First, a brief summary of Lakoff and Johnson’s theory on metaphorical thought is
given. Their framework is then utilised to analyse metaphors used to conceptualise
knowledge. This is based on a textual analysis of the work of four leading authors:
Davenport and Prusak (2000) and Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). This shows that over
95 per cent of their conceptualisations of knowledge is metaphorical. Having thus
shown the importance of metaphor for our thinking about knowledge, the underlying
metaphors of IC are analysed and tested, based on further textual analysis of the
seminal article “Brainpower” by Thomas Stewart (1991). The identification of the
metaphorical nature of the IC concept leads to a number of implications and points for
further discussion.
The conclusion that the IC concept is metaphorical is not judgemental. Metaphorical
reasoning allows us to make sense of phenomena on an abstract level (the target
domain) by using characteristics from a basic level (the source domain) and is,
therefore, inescap able. Metaphorical re asoning is invalua ble in creating new
understanding and meaning; this analysis of IC as a metaphor, therefore, is not
meant to be in any way derogatory.
How metaphor works
The unconscious at work
Metaphors provide a perspective on the world that helps to construct it in a certain
way, emphasizing certain key characteristics and ignoring others. Lakoff an d Johnson
(1980, 1999) analysed the role of metaphor in human thinking. Their theory on
metaphorical thought is based on three findings from cognitive science (Lakoff and
Johnson, 1999):
(1) The mind is inherently embodied.
(2) Thought is mostly unconscious.
(3) Abstract concepts are largely metaphorica l.
There has been an evolution of man’s ability to reason. Higher order reasoning is built
upon earlier basic reasoning concerning how our body works and on our primary
experience of reality. Our brain and body, and especially our sensory motor system,
shape our concepts. Those primary experiences of reality often have to do with space
and movement, what Lakoff and Johnson term “spatial relations”. As a result,
spatial-relations concepts are at the heart of our conceptual system and we use them
unconsciously. When we say that somebody stands in front of a tree, for example, we
have unconsciously projected a front and a back on the tree; concepts that do not exist
as entities in the external world. The use of words like being “under”, or “on”, reveal
that we use spatial metaphors to conceptualise things. “I am in love” makes sense
because we unconsciously accept the underlying metaphor of “love as a container”.
Love is something you can be in, just like you can be in, up or under a container. The
same counts for expressions like “I am under pressure” or “I am on to something”. So
we constantly use metaphor to conceptualise things and we are usually not aware of it.
Mapping
According to Lakoff and Johnson the use of these metaphors is not simply a question of
pointing towards one specific similarity between the source domain of the metaphor
(the container) and the target domain (love). Rather, it involves an elaborate mapping of
JIC
7,1
94
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