Rejuvenating corporate intellectual capital by co-opting customer competence

The paper proposes an approach through which incumbent enterprises can rejuvenate the value of their IC through “real time” co-option of customer competence. In contrast to extant research evidence, the integration of customer competence is viewed not only as a means to renew the overall competence of the organization, but also as a method for ensuring that the IC of an enterprise does not become obsolete in a turbulent environment. The paper first describes the dilemma for incumbent firms regarding the continued relevancy (or “freshness”) of their IC. An evaluation of major concepts of customer capital as part of IC is then provided, and subsequently an approach for real time validation of IC through co-option of customer competence is proposed, with application in a global telecommunications corporation. Finally, conclusions are drawn and further research efforts suggested. © 2001, MCB UP Limited