Intellectual capital and non‐profit organizations in the knowledge economy : Editorial and introduction to special issue

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the background and rationale to the special issue, “Intellectual capital and non‐profit organizations in the knowledge economy”. It aims at helping in communicating and disseminating relevant recent intellectual capital research studies within the non‐profit context. Design/methodology/approach – The call for papers for the special issue was made publicly available in the journal web site. Authors from Australia, Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the USA were attracted, submitting their manuscripts for the consideration of publication in the special issue. All submissions underwent a double‐blind refereed selection process. Following a brief discussion of the contemporary non‐profit challenge, the main ideas of the eight papers selected are then presented. Findings – The selected papers summarize the state‐of‐the‐art in the research of intellectual capital in the non‐profit sector in the knowledge economy. The papers embrace an eclectic mix of topics and methodologies. Research limitations/implications – As a collection, the special issue sets the groundwork for many years of future hypothesis development and testing in intellectual capital research studies within the non‐profit context. Originality/value – The special issue is the first to bring together theoretical pieces that link context to theory, empirical works, and case studies that address the application of IC in non‐profit organizations.