Intellectual capital and competitive advantage: a structured literature review

The purpose of the present study is to review and critique the intellectual capital (IC) literature in context of competitive advantage (CA) and outline the future of relevant research agendas in this field. Research articles from the Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) databases, ranging from 2000 to 2022 are categorised and analysed through bibliometric and content/thematic analysis in a structured literature review (SLR). The findings indicate an increased attention among scholars and academicians due to tremendous importance and recognition of IC as source of CA. The results of co-citation and bibliographic-coupling analyses suggest that further attention should be devoted to IC practices. The study is constructive in evaluating the scientific production on this subject and identifying major contributions. Furthermore, the information provided is useful for researchers and practitioners studying IC as competency of CA and can underline the directions of future research.