KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

The main theme of this paper is based on the principle goal of the European Union, which is "to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion". The competitive advantage of the " new economy" has been transferred from material and financial resources to non-material and non-financial goods. The crucial challenge for the 21st century company is defining, evaluating, improving, appraisal and management of knowledge. Intellectual capital is the fundamental lever, the basic resource, the underlying potential, the underlying factor of all the elements, i.e. of the business system vertically. Special attention is paid to the intellectual capital as the synergy element of the business system, which can bring about vertical integration. Every company has at its disposal knowledge, abilities, values and recognisability that can be turned into value. If managing with that resource can contribute to a competitive advantage, productivity increase and market value increase, then it is no longer a choice, but a necessity. Because of that, the question is not whether it is necessary to manage intellectual capital, but how to do it.