A multilevel model for the integral assessment of intellectual capital at the macro- and mesolevels of the economy

The study is highly relevant due to the insufficient development of methodological tools for assessing intellectual capital at the macro- and meso-levels of the economy. The study aims to present and substantiate a multilevel model for the integral assessment of intellectual capital at the macro- and meso-levels. This model links top-level components of intellectual capital to subcomponents and measurable types of cognitive activity and aligns them with the territory’s socio-economic outcomes. The hypothesis being tested is that a detailed structural-decomposition model with an explicit map of cognitive activities and a unified operational protocol increases the managerial usefulness of intellectual capital assessment and makes it possible to identify directions for targeted interventions. The methodology includes an analytic-synthetic review of indicators; formalization of normalization (including a “target-maintenance” regime) and rules for handling zero/missing values; hybrid non-expert weighting; aggregation within the family of generalized means with a normative choice of transparent parameters; and causal–structural analysis. The specific results obtained by the author in line with the hypothesis test include a developed hierarchy “intellectual capital – component – cognitive activity – aspect – indicator” that ensures traceability from managed initiatives to target metrics; a specified reproducible “normalization – weighting – aggregation” protocol with a single policy for zeros and comparability over time and across territories; a proposed algorithm for translating scores into managerial measures across hierarchical levels; and identified priority areas for monitoring and target setting. The main outcomes of the study include improved interpretability and governability of the composite assessment of intellectual capital and support for policy planning and audit at regional and national levels. The practical significance of the study is that the proposed model establishes a reproducible link between managerial initiatives and the target metrics of intellectual capital and enables interregional comparability. Further research entails empirical piloting on data from specific regions, assessment of the transferability of settings across levels, and expansion of sensitivity/robustness procedures.