The 4-Leaf Model^®

The 4-leaf model maps the 4 types of intellectual capital (human, structural, customer and strategic alliance capital) and as such defines clusters of structuralized intellectual capital, non-structuralized internal intellectual capital, and non-structuralized external intellectual capital.

The model shows 15 different sections, each with their own different color. The darker the color is, the more risky the IC-element: risky means that the chance of losing this element is higher. For example, structural capital on top of the figure is white, implying it is relatively easy to control and manage. In contrast, customer capital is red, implying this section is the most difficult to control and manage. Customer capital is risky, because a company does not own customers.

In short, the IC-categories can be ordered according to the risk of losing the IC-element. The more structured the IC-category, the less likely it is for the company to lose it.

The 4-Leaf Model provides a company's management the insights which elements fall into which of the 15 overlapping sections. As such, it can try to transform the un-structuralized, more risky elements to more structuralized, easier to control and manage elements in the future.

Based on the 4-leaf model, Areopa developed an IC-calculation tool consisting of 77 formulas to calculate the monetary value of a company's intellectual capital in order to rewrite a balance sheet to include the value of intellectual capital.