4Capital and Performance

Dr. Alex Liu

• Introduction
  

 

• 1. Evolution of Capital
  




• 2. New capitalism needs 4Capital
  

 

• 3. Material capital: definition & measures
  

 

• 4. Intellectual capital: definition & measures
  

 

• 5. Social capital: definition & measures
  

 

• 6. Spiritual capital: definition & measures
  

 

• 7. 4Capital determines results
  

 

• 8. 4Capital and life satisfaction
  

 

• 9. 4Capital and organizational performance
  

 

• 10. 4Capital and national development
  

 

• 11. Measuring your 4Capital
  

 

• 12. 4Capital Transformation
  

 

• Conclusion
  

 

• Appendix

• BACK

INTRODUCTION to 4Capital Theory

BACK

We all live in capitalist societies now that we may think we know the meaning of the term capital very well. Actually, most people only refer to money or durable material goods when talking about capital. That is, most people only know one type of capital that is material capital. However, there are four major types of capital: material capital, intellectual capital, social capital, and spiritual capital.

In today’s social science research, besides the material capital measured by money, both intellectual capital and social capital have been used widely as useful concepts to describe modern economic and social developments. Recently, there is a surge in studying spiritual capital by social science researchers, business consultants, and religion workers. Many people believe that spiritual capital is even more important than other types of capital, in terms of improving individuals’ happiness and improving organizational performance or even national developments.

Simply speaking, material capital includes funds and other durable goods, which can all be measured by money. Intellectual capital refers to knowledge and skills that may be used to generate wealth. It is often measured by education level and intellectual property such as copyrights and patents. Social capital reflects the value of social networks, which is often evaluated by internal trust and friendships among members, plus external reputation for any individual or organization.

Spiritual capital, as a new emerging social science concept, is considered as difficult to be defined and measured. For people believing in God, spiritual capital may be considered as the degree of connectedness with the God. For others, spiritual capital can be evaluated by commitments to certain noble life purpose and moral standards. Some scholars such as Dr. Alex Liu claim that everyone has some unique spiritual assets. The usage and materialization of these spiritual assets forms the spiritual capital of the users.

Though many researchers have studied all these four types of capital separately, Dr. Alex Liu may be the first person to study the relationship among these four capitals. Based on his measuring these four capital and their impacts on life satisfaction, organizational performance, and national developments, Dr. Liu has developed a 4Capital theory and has proposed a new concept called the optimal 4capital combination. The 4Capital theory claims that the 4Capital combination determines life satisfaction of individuals, performance of organizations, and developments of nations. 

The 4Capital theory also claims that the excessive owning one type of capital is often the main cause of many human problems. An optimal combination of 4Capital is the best way to ensure individual happiness, excellent performance of organizations, and social harmony.  

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