Management of intellectual capital in textile companies of the state of Ceará
The new context of the knowledge-based economy demands from companies new techniques and forms of business administration. The amount of organizational knowledge has become the most preeminent resource among the company’s assets and its management and measurement should be prioritized. In view of the importance of the intellectual assets in the context of the contemporary economy and the need for a better knowledge of the process of managing the intellectual assets in companies in the state of Ceara, this paper identifies the main characteristics of the process of management of the intellectual capital through a field study on for textile companies in the state of Ceara, Brazil. In order to carry out this exploratory-descriptive study of a qualitative nature, which was conducted in January and February of 2004, the primary data were collected by using the technique of semi-structured interviews with company managers. It was found that no single company already has an already implemented project or program to manage its intellectual assets. The management of financial indicators continues to be prioritized by the companies, demonstrating that the traditional administration prevails over new approaches. Despite being non-expressive, the indicators related to the management of the customer’s capital are the most disseminated ones, whereas the indicators related to the human capital seem to be secondary. Thus, this fact may represent a clear opportunity to further develop studies on this topic, in the light of its strategic importance for the state of Ceara. Key words: management, administration techniques, intellectual assets.