Identifying and prioritizing critical intellectual capital for e-learning companies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the measures of intellectual capital (IC) of e-learning service companies that ultimately influence firms' competitive advantages.Design methodology approach - Through focus group interviews, content analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process, this paper identifies five dimensions and 15 indicators to measure the IC of e-learning service companies in Taiwan.Findings - The findings and prioritization of ICs can help the e-learning companies to understand the critical success factors that facilitate gaining their competitive advantages in Taiwan.Research limitations implications - The focus of this paper is only on e-learning companies located in Taiwan, thus the results cannot be generalized to all e-learning companies. Additionally, only five main dimensions are identified from the study, there is a possibility that this study does not cover all the important dimensions of IC of e-learning companies.Practical implications - e-Learning companies can use the IC measurement tool developed in this study to detect IC weaknesses and strengths. Moreover, e-learning companies need to re-consider the portfolio of their IC that make e-leaning more competitive in industry.Originality value - This paper finding contributes to the present body of knowledge and also highlights IC dimensions that can provide a reference for e-leaning companies to develop favorable strategies for achieving their goal of enhancing competitive advantages.