Knowledge Assets and Risk in Early Stage Firms

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the phenomenon of intellectual capital risks. Thereby our paper aims at exploring the perceived risk associated with intellectual capital/knowledge assets in early stage firms. Design/methodology/approach - Taking the purpose of our study, we consider an explorative (qualitative) research approach more appropriate. More precisely we gather the data by conducting semi-structured interviews with owners from three early stage firms operating in the IT sector and one investment manager all from Iceland. Originality/value - Our findings provide fresh insights into the risks associated with intellectual capital/knowledge assets as perceived by the participants. Our findings can advance the discussion of the. risky. side of intellectual capital and thus can contribute to the further development of the concept of intellectual capital in general and the field of entrepreneurship. Practical implications - Our paper identifies the perceived relevance of a set of intellectual capital/knowledge assets-related risks. This insight can help early stage firms to identify ways to communicate and address these risks. Our findings may also help investors and shapers of public policy to better understand the activities of early-stage firms regarding their knowledge assets and their management.