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.
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.
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.
The article explores a relatively new topic (intellectual liabilities) from a perspective (historical sciences) that is rarely used in management science.
