evaluating the importance of intellectual capital dimensions in selected hospitals of isfahan, iran

introduction: intellectual capitals in an organization are assets that their value is increased over time and with sharing with others. since hospitals are dominant in providing medical services, management of intangible assets could be very important for them. to avoid the waste of costs and efforts, it is necessary to identify the priority and importance of each dimension of intellectual capitals in hospitals, and then to develop and manage them. methods: this was a descriptive survey which was conducted in three hospitals in isfahan, iran in 2010. theoretical studies were based on library investigation and corresponding data were collected through pre-designed questionnaires. the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by some specialists in management, and its reliability was tested using cronbach's alpha (α = 0.89). the sample size was estimated to be 200 subjects. some descriptive statistics were presented and the inference for evaluating the importance of intellectual capital dimensions in medical sector was based on student t-test. the web diagram was used for prioritizing the dimensions. results: among the intellectual capital dimensions considered in medical sector, the importance of three dimensions of human capital, customer capital and process were higher than average level. innovation dimension had a moderate significance in intellectual capital while the value of financial capital and information technology was low. conclusion: various dimensions of intellectual capitals in hospitals will exhibit different importance. therefore, administrators of hospitals must provide good foundation for utilization of all assets and produce knowledge, wealth and innovation.